Man falls for ‘reward’ in exchange for Re 1 note; loses Rs 10 lakh
Mumbai, Apr 19 (PTI): A cashier of a state-run insurance company lost Rs 10.38 lakh after fraudsters lured him with the promise of a hefty reward in exchange for a Re 1 note, an official said on Saturday.
The incident came to light on Thursday, when the 45-year-old complainant, a resident of Mumbai’s Santacruz West, approached the West Region Cyber Police Station, the official said.
The man, who works at the Churchgate branch of the insurer, told the police that he came across an advertisement while watching social media reels on February 23.
The ad promised a reward of Rs 4.53 lakh to those producing a one-rupee note. It had a WhatsApp number, the official said.
The cashier sent a photo of a Re 1 note on the WhatsApp number, following which a person, who introduced himself as Pankaj Singh, got in touch with him. Singh said he worked at a coin shop.
The caller asked the man to fill out a form and collected Rs 6,160 for "registration". After some time, he again called the complainant, saying the earlier amount was incorrect and he would need to transfer Rs 6,107, the official said.
The caller also promised that the previously transferred amount would be refunded. Subsequently, Singh connected the complainant with another person, who identified himself as Arun Sharma.
Sharma sent the victim a letter from “RBI” about winning the reward in exchange for a Re 1 note.
However, the two smooth-talked the cashier and collected Rs 10.38 lakh from the complainant under various pretexts, the official said.
The cashier realised that he had been duped when the accused told him the reward amount could be raised to Rs 25.56 lakh if he paid Rs 6 lakh more. He then approached the police.
A case has been registered under the IT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said, adding that a probe was underway.
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member
New Delhi (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking the end of his two-decade rule in the eastern state and paving the way for a new chief minister.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony. The Chairman later welcomed him as a member of the Upper House and also on his return in Parliament.
Kumar took the oath in Hindi in the presence of Union Minister J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present at the oath-taking.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal, were among those present during the oath-taking.
"Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, administered the oath to Shri Nitish Kumar as an elected Member of Rajya Sabha, from Bihar, at Parliament House today," the Vice President's office said on X, while sharing pictures of the oath-taking.
After the oath-taking, Kumar came out of the new Parliament building and spoke about the time he was a member of the Lok Sabha and sat in the old Parliament building.
As Kumar assumes the Rajya Sabha role, it marks the end of his long two-decade rule in Bihar. Kumar will soon resign as chief minister and the NDA is likely to elect a new chief minister of Bihar on April 14.
He has already resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U) supremo was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and he had to quit as an MLC in the 14-day period after his election.
