A Kandivali-based septuagenarian lost ₹16.72 lakh after her house help allegedly stole the debit card and withdrew ₹1.08 lakh, wiring the rest of the money via UPI transactions. The fraud came to light when the complainant, the victim's daughter, noticed huge amounts being debited from her mother's account. A case of cheating has been registered at Kandivali police station.
According to sources, the incident came to light on February 18, when one of the househelps had gone to update the passbook in a bank, only to learn that there were unauthorized transactions made from the card to the tune of ₹16.72 lakh. This incident was brought in the complainant's notice, following which she registered a complaint with the Kandivali Police.
In her complainant, the share marketing employee said that a house help identified as Ritesh had been kept for her mother's care from January 1 to 26 as a temporary replacement. The septuagenarian, who kept her debit card in the cupboard, hardly used it, which was taken advantage of. Preliminary probe revealed that Ritesh had taken the debit card and withdrawn ₹1.08 lakh, transferring over 15.63 lakh via UPI method between January 25 and 27.
Police said that Ritesh had stopped coming to the complainant's maiden home as the original house help had returned from his hometown. Subsequently, police booked Ritesh under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, wherein they are investigating the matter and further probe is underway.
