New Delhi, Nov 25 (IANS): An Indian Army Colonel and his younger brother were duped by a man of over Rs 15.9 lakh on the pretext of selling second-hand cars, particularly those owned by foreign embassies.

According to the FIR, accessed by IANS, the complainant Col. Rajbir Singh, who was posted in Ministry of Defence at South block, "Through a mutual acquaintance, Mohd. Yasar met me at my residence. After a few interactions, he offered to assist me in acquiring a second-hand car at a reasonable price, either through a dealer or an embassy. Initially, I paid little attention, but he began sending me images of various cars along with their prices, and unwittingly, I fell into his trap," explained the senior Army officer.

Subsequently, Singh was assigned to Kargil for my next posting, and Yasar continued pursuing the car transaction through calls, WhatsApp messages, and texts.

"He (Yasar) assured me of obtaining a well-maintained car within a week, around Feb/Mar 2022, and requested funds to be transferred accordingly. I transferred a sum of Rs 15,90,000 via NEFT/RTGS to Yasar's bank account," the complaint stated.

During this period, Yasar kept spinning false stories through WhatsApp, SMS, and phone calls, claiming that the car was on the verge of delivery.

"He even suggested a Toyota Corolla at a reasonable price, prompting my younger brother, Vijay Bir Singh, to upgrade his car. Trusting Yasar's assurances, my brother transferred Rs 10 lakh to the same bank account," Singh stated in the complaint.

"Despite continuous assurances from Yasar about imminent car delivery, the vehicles never materialised. When I pressed him for the return of the funds, he claimed to have invested the money and promised repayment upon selling his own car. For the past year, he has consistently pledged to return the money 'tomorrow.'

"Since March 2023, he has ceased answering calls and responding to messages," Singh said.

"My brother received two post-dated cheques from Yasar, each amounting to Rs 5,00,000, in exchange for the funds he transferred. However, both the cheques were dishonoured due to insufficient funds in Yasar's account," said Singh.

Despite numerous requests for the return of the money, Yasar has not complied, prolonging the matter. "When I informed him of my intention to involve the police due to the fraud and forgery committed, he responded with threatening language, saying, 'Meine tumhare jaise bahot fauji dekhe hain, tum jo bigadna chaho bigad lo.' I confronted him about his false promises regarding the money's return and questioned the authenticity of his business ventures," Singh added.

A senior police official said that a case under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of the Chanakyapuri police station.