Police have arrested four individuals on charges of digitally defrauding approximately Rs 5 million in the Kathmandu Valley.
The arrested are Aditya Kumar Singh, 21, and Siddhartha Kumar Singh, 20, of Sarlahi, currently staying at Old Baneshwar, Kathmandu, Ramsewak Ram, 22, of Bara, currently staying at Gatthaghar, Bhaktapur, and Akash Sah, 24, of Parsa, currently staying at Gatthaghar, Bhaktapur, the police said.
The Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office made them public on Sunday after arresting them from different places in the Valley.
The police had initiated an investigation into the case based on the complaints that they defrauded people by using social networking sites including Facebook, WhatsApp, imo, Viber, TikTok, Instagram.
“They have defrauded various people of 4 million 958 thousand rupees till date, according to the complaint lodged,” SP Rabindra Regmi, the spokesperson of the Office, “Five individuals have lodged complaints against them. We are carrying out further investigation into the case.”
According to a preliminary investigation, the individuals allegedly contacted victims on social networking sites and lured them with promises of obtaining luxury goods from abroad, like mobile phones, iPhones, gold ornaments, shoes, and clothes, as well as securing lucrative jobs overseas. This scheme built trust with victims before defrauding them of their money.
Meanwhile, police have recovered seven mobile sets, 16 SIM cards, 21 ATM cards of different banks, 16 deposit receipts from different banks, four check sheets, passports, a driving license, and citizenship cards from their possessions.
