Naidunia Correspondent, Ambikapur | A vegetable trader, Shankar Prasad Gupta, was duped of 25 lakh rupees by promising gold at a cheap rate in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh. After taking money from the trader, he fabricated a fake story and claimed to be caught by Ranchi police and sent a photo of the lockup. Then, posing as a police officer, SP, lawyer, and company official, he continued to extort money from the victim.
Kotwali police registered an FIR against the accused, Vikas Soni, under sections 308(2) and 318(4) of the BNS and initiated an investigation.
According to the report filed at Kotwali police station, the vegetable trader, a resident of Bauripara, runs a vegetable business in Gudri Bazaar. The accused Soni, a resident of Chandni Chowk, lived on rent in a house in Bengali Maidan eight to ten years ago. Taking advantage of this identity, Vikas approached him in February 2024 and promised to arrange cheap gold from a woman named Anamika in Ambikapur. Upon offering one lakh rupees, he told him that the woman had gone to Ranchi and the gold would have to be brought from there.
Fabricated Ranchi Jail Photo To Dupe More Money
Shankar gave him another six thousand rupees to travel to Ranchi. Upon reaching Ranchi, Soni called and said that the police had caught him while he was bringing the gold. He sent photos of the lockup, citing torture, and demanded immediate payment. Before Shankar could arrange the money, the accused returned to Ambikapur and, with three lakh rupees, went back to Ranchi.
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Subsequently, he fabricated a story and extorted another 15 to 16 lakh rupees by September 2024. Each time, he claimed that the 150 grams of gold would be delivered soon. Between October and December 2024, the accused deposited another 703,810 rupees into various bank accounts, as evidenced in receipts given to the police.
Extortion By Threatening To Have His Name Registered In FIR
When Shankar realised he had been cheated and demanded his money, Soni began to evade his demand. He called from different numbers, posing as a madam, a company official, an advocate, the Ranchi SP, and a Delhi office staff member, demanding money in exchange for removing his name from the police case.
Shankar said that whenever he went to the accused's house to demand the money, his wife would say, "If you don't get the gold, I'll give you all the wedding jewellery; they're not running away."
The accused and his wife threatened him, saying they had registered Shankar's name with the Ranchi police and demanded money to have his name removed from the case. The victim said he borrowed 25 lakh rupees from relatives and outsiders, and now the accused is refusing to return the money.