Kangra Police have arrested two accused involved in a Rs 70 lakh fraud case, where they duped an education trust by promising a fake Rs 10 crore donation. The accused were apprehended after the financial advisor of the Hamirpur-based trust, who had been swindled over several months, filed a complaint.
According to DSP Kangra Ankit Sharma, the scam began on July 4 when Amritpal, a resident of Nawabgarh, Uttar Pradesh, approached the financial advisor of the education trust. He falsely claimed to be associated with companies that offer large donations to trusts and assured the advisor that he could secure a Rs 10 crore donation for them. However, Amritpal demanded Rs 15 lakh as a registration fee to process the transaction.
Initially convinced by the conman’s elaborate claims and fake documents showing donations made to other trusts, the advisor transferred Rs 15 lakh. Over the next few months, the scam escalated, with Amritpal asking for additional payments under the pretext of completing formalities, resulting in a total transfer of Rs 70 lakh to the fraudster’s account.
As the promised donation never materialized, the financial advisor became suspicious. The situation came to a head on Saturday when two more individuals, Akash Kumar from Meerut and Deepak Sen from Delhi, arrived, claiming that the Rs 10 crore had been approved but required an additional Rs 1 crore to finalize the donation. Sensing further deceit, the advisor reported the matter to Kangra Police.
The police arrested the two suspects and seized their vehicle, which contained rods and sticks. The two accused were booked under Sections 318(4) and 61(2) of the Indian Penal Code and produced before the court, which remanded them to five days of police custody. DSP Ankit Sharma stated that the police are actively investigating the case to determine if the fraudsters have carried out similar scams elsewhere.
