UP cabinet minister’s company worker duped of Rs 2.08 crore by cyber frauds

According to the complaint, Srivastava received a WhatsApp message on November 13 from a number displaying Abhishek's profile photo.

Prayagraj: An accountant of a company owned by Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta’s was allegedly duped of Rs 2.08 crore by cyber frauds, police said on Saturday.

On the complaint of Ritesh Srivastava, a case was registered on Thursday in the cyber police station against unidentified individuals under section 319 (2), 318 (4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, they said.

Srivastava works for Icavo Agro Daily Private Limited, owned by the minister and managed by his son Abhishek Gupta.

According to the complaint, Srivastava received a WhatsApp message on November 13 from a number displaying Abhishek’s profile photo.

The sender claimed it was a new number and sought sensitive financial information related to a proposed business meeting, the complainant said.

Believing the message to be genuine, Sivastava shared the company’s account details on that number following the instructions of the company’s director, it said.

Subsequently, he was instructed to transfer Rs 68 lakh to a client’s account for finalising a business deal, followed by additional transfers of Rs 65 lakh and Rs 75 lakh into two separate accounts, he said in his complaint.

Later that evening, Srivastava discussed the transactions with Abhishek, who denied sending any such messages. Realising the fraud, the company informed the police.

Cyber Police Sation in-charge Rajiv Tiwari said that all the three bank accounts in which the money was transferred were frozen with immediate effect.

Further investigation in the matter is underway, he said.