In a strange incident, a 72-year-old Kanpur man was fooled by three people from West Bengal who have now been arrested. The victim, recognised as Avinash Kumar Shukla, was allegedly duped of Rs 9 lakh. This happened when the three men lured him into buying a “magic mirror” that purportedly possessed the ability to see people naked and also predict the future. The three people have been recognised as Partha Singhray, Molaya Sarkar, Sudipta Sinha Roy. They were all arrested by Nayapalli police in Odisha where the transaction was taking place.
During the arrest, many things were seized. This included, a car, Rs 28,000 in cash, five mobile phones containing videos that showcased the mystical powers of the ‘magic mirror,’ and a collection of dubious agreement papers.
The victim became a part of this scheme through the involvement of mutual acquaintance. The con people posed as employees of a Singaporean firm renowned for its collection of antiquities. The accused offered Shukla to acquire the fabled “magic mirror" for a princely sum of Rs 2 crore. He was told that the mirror was used by NASA scientists in the United States.
Somehow, they managed to convince Shukla to travel to Bhubaneshwar. On reaching the hotel, the scam lost its base and Shukla asked for a refund.
Inspector Biswaranjan Sahoo, in-charge of the Nayapalli police station, said, “Having already parted with a hefty sum amounting to Rs 9 lakh, Shukla’s realization of the perfidious plot unfolded during the meeting at the hotel."
Meanwhile, in another scam case, a Chinese national, along with perpetrators based in Gujarat, created a deceitful football betting app that collectively scammed 1,200 people. Using the app, an approximate amount of Rs 1,400 crore was stolen in a span of 9 days.
According to The Times of India, the mastermind, Woo Uyanbe—who hails from China’s Shenzhen region. He was found to be operating the scam out of Patan and Banaskantha. The Gujarat Police needed to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to solve the case.
