Mumbai, January 10: An online fraudster was caught red-handed by the police after he convinced a girl via online chat to steal money from her parents and provide the cash to him as he had run massive losses in his business venture.
The 17-year-old daughter of a diamond merchant in a Mumbai suburb met the con man through BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) and convinced the girl that he was in love with her which provided her the impetus to steal about Dh70,000 (Rs7.5 lakh) from home, reveals Mid-Day.
When the parent discovered the money and other valuables such as a Rolex watch missing from his home, the housemaids were rounded up by the police. The diamond merchant's nephew was also charged with robbery. However, the authorities failed to solve the case.
The father of the teenager got suspicious when he saw his daughter constantly glued to her BlackBerry. He laid a trap for her. He kept about Dh2,000 in his safe in the presence of his daughter and moved from the room on the pretext of going to the restroom.
The daughter immediately tried to remove the cash from the safe and was caught red-handed by the father.
The girl told the authorities that her chat boyfriend lived in Delhi and his 'business' of fixing cricket matches was not doing too well and hence she was sending him whatever money she could lay her hand on to him so that he would not be depressed. The man would either come down in person to collect the money from the girl or she would wire transfer the money to his account.
The police lay another trap for the Delhi businessman. The girl was asked to ask him to visit Mumbai for soe more cash and he was apprehended. The man had invested the money he received from the girl in a Delhi bank.
The police officials suspect the man to be a serial robber and he could have played the same game with other unsuspecting young girls.
----Source:Emirates