The entrepreneur, who resides on Old Delhi Road, said that he made 24 online transactions between November 19 and December 9. The first deposit was just Rs 1,000 while the biggest one was Rs 9.5 lakh. Realising that he was getting cheated, he finally approached the police recently.
In November, the 27-year-old was browsing online content when he came across the mobile number of a company, Dating Circle. “Out of curiosity, I called the number. A woman, who introduced herself as Shweta, a company employee, was at the other end. She explained to me the benefits of dating through the app and encouraged me to try it,” the man said.
First, he got directions to register with the company with Rs 1,000. The money got transferred into a bank account in Kolkata in the name of Moyna Bibi. “Shweta talked to me in such a manner that I got lured and registered with the company,” the 27-year-old said.
The next day, he got introduced to a girl named Shruti. The company shared her mobile number and asked him to pay a refundable amount of Rs 18,000. “I had a conversation with Shruti on the phone. I also kept receiving calls from Shweta, telling me to deposit more money,” the man said.
He claimed that the company told him that the money, after some deductions, would get refunded once he started meeting Shruti. So, in keeping with his conversations with Shweta, he paid Rs 28,000 and Rs 50,000 on consecutive days.
“Shweta continued to ask for huge sums of money, promising that it, after some deductions, will be refunded in parts after each meeting with the girl (Shruti). However, I got nothing as promised, and so, I got apprehensive and requested a refund. I also told Shweta to cancel my registration with the company and return my money,” he said.
But even for cancellation, the company asked for money. “I got told that if I deposited specific sums of money in their accounts, the cancellation process would start, and my money would get refunded in instalments,” said the entrepreneur, adding that trusting Shweta, he paid those sums, too.
However, the account remained, and there was no refund. Later, the entrepreneur got introduced to one Rohit, allegedly the senior executive of Dating Circle, who also asked for more money for giving a refund. When the victim refused, he received the threat that he would get framed in a rape case.
On December 17, the entrepreneur approached Gurugram police and filed a complaint. After an initial investigation, police on Sunday registered a case at Udyog Vihar under sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC. “Police are trying to trace the persons behind the fraud,” said police spokesperson Subhash Boken, adding that money got deposited in bank accounts in West Bengal.
