Bengaluru: A 25-year-old techie was cheated of Rs 1.46 lakh by a fraudster posing as an IPL ticket seller on Instagram, in a case reported from B Narayanapura.
According to a complaint filed at the Mahadevapura police station, the accused identified himself as Sumit Biswal, claiming to be a senior supervisor at the ticket counter of M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. He assured the victim that he could arrange IPL tickets along with food coupons, Deccan Herald reported.
He also convinced the victim to transfer money in multiple UPI transactions from his account and his mother’s account.
Despite receiving the amount, the accused neither delivered the tickets nor refunded the money, police said.
The complainant said that the accused promised not just match tickets but ‘VIP benefits’ like food coupons and extra ID cards for friends for RCB vs CSK, scheduled for Sunday.
"He asked me to come near the stadium gate number 10, saying someone would deliver the tickets within minutes, and even sent an email confirmation to gain my trust," the victim said.
"Initially, I agreed to buy two tickets for Rs 3,700 each, but he kept asking for more money under various pretexts such as refundable security deposits, additional ID cards and food coupons. Trusting him, I made multiple payments, even using my mother’s bank account after exhausting my own limits, and ended up transferring around Rs 1.46 lakh," he said.
Police have registered a case and further investigation is underway.
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Ahmedabad (PTI): Voting got underway on Sunday morning for elections to several local bodies in Gujarat, including 15 municipal corporations and 84 municipalities.
Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, as per the schedule announced by the State Election Commission.
The elections are being held for 15 municipal corporations, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, making it one of the largest electoral exercises in the state.
A total of 9,992 candidates are in the fray, with more than 4.18 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise.
A three-tier security is in place, aided by CCTV surveillance and deployment of special squads in sensitive areas, police officials said.
The polls are being conducted under revised norms for Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations, and required extensive delimitation and restructuring of wards in several districts.
The ruling BJP, Opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have emerged as the key players, while All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is also contesting in several places.
Among notable candidates are former Gujarat-cadre IPS officer M L Ninama, ex-radio jockey Abha Desai, and former AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani.
Ninama is contesting from the Odh seat in Shamlaji taluka for the Arvalli district panchayat elections, while the BJP has nominated Bhayani from the Bhesan seat of the Junagadh district panchayat.
Desai, popularly known as RJ Abha, is contesting as a Congress candidate from ward number 10 of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation.
Elections are also being held for the first time in nine newly-created municipal corporations, including Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar.
Counting of votes will take place on April 28.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel campaigned extensively for the BJP.
The AAP had taken the lead over other parties in launching the campaign, with its national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressing several rallies across Gujarat.
In a first for AAP, the Kejriwal-led party is contesting around 5,000 seats in local polls.
Other contestants include the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Independents.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi campaigned in the final phase, addressing public meetings in Ahmedabad and Bhuj.
In March 2021, the BJP scored a landslide win in the local polls in Gujarat, winning 6,236 out of 8,470 seats across various municipalities and establishing a wide gap with rival Congress.
The BJP had then dominated all six municipal corporations, besides 81 municipalities, 32 district panchayats, and 231 taluka panchayats.
