A city-based trader, who sought to open a grocery store in New Town, was purportedly swindled by a wholesale vendor whose phone number was sourced through an online app.
Last week, the complainant, Debaditya Pathak, reported to the New Town police station that he was seeking to buy supplies for his store, for which he had utilised the Internet and identified a vendor through an app.
“According to his complaint, the wholesale vendor had taken ₹4.57 lakh from the trader against the promise to supply grocery items. However, nothing was delivered,” said an officer of New Town police station.
Pathak informed the police that, while it was originally settled that he would provide a 50 per cent payment for the entire order, the wholesale dealer subsequently claimed that the invoice would not be produced unless a complete payment was made.
“The complainant paid the entire amount. In fact, he was notified that the materials being delivered to him were about ₹30,000 higher than the projected cost. As a result, he also paid an extra ₹30,000 beyond the total amount,” the officer explained.
However, even after a few weeks of the payment, the grocery items were not delivered.
Pathak complained to the New Town police station last Friday.
The police said that all transactions were done online and would be tracked accordingly. Sources mentioned that law enforcement had commenced efforts to identify the suspects through the phone number from which the calls were made and the online transactions were executed.
No one was arrested till Sunday evening.
Senior police officers advised that verifying the credentials of any online
vendor is vital before undertaking any kind of financial transaction.
Cheat complaint
A student’s father has filed a police complaint against a career counselling agency, alleging that the agency took ₹1 lakh from him, promising a seat in a medical college in Odisha.
The complainant claimed that the agency demanded the money urgently, indicating that the college was in high demand and that seats were quickly filled up.
However, when the complainant later visited the college, he learned that the courses were irregular due to a lack of students.
A complaint of cheating has been lodged with Bidhannagar police.
