Mumbai, May 29 (TOI): A senior citizen from Powai who lost Rs 43,290 to a credit card fraud in August 2014 had to run from pillar to post for almost three years just to get an FIR registered. And that too happened only after the intervention of the chief minister's office.
With so much time lost just for the probe process to start, the victim, 77-year-old KC Patnaik, wonders, if the fraudster would ever be caught and he would get back his money. Patnaik, general manager with Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, said if the police had started investigations in time, the fraudster could have been easily caught as he contacted him again in 2015.
In his complaint, Patnaik said that on August 19, 2014, he received a call from a man claiming to be bank tele-caller who said the bank wanted to give him bonus for reward points he had earned. "The fraudster had all details of my account—from date of birth to balance in the card. He asked my mother's name to execute the fraud. Then he asked me to give the OTP that I had received. Within minutes about Rs39,000 was gone. But the nationalised bank did not send an alert. The next day after a second transaction for Rs4,290 was carried out I got an sms alert," Patnaik said in his complaint.
On August 22, 2014, Patnaik approached Powai police but they didn't register an FIR. After making rounds of Powai police station, he went to the police commissionerate, where he was against directed to Powai police.
"I rushed to the bank to know to whose account the money was transferred. If police had taken the matter seriously then they could have easily caught the fraudster. Neither police or the bank was helpful. Even though I had submitted a 'dispute' application for the transaction, the bank made me pay for the money withdrawn by the fraudster," he told TOI.
Even as he was struggling to get an FIR registered, Patnaik again received a call from the fraudster in May 2015 claiming that he wanted to return the money.
Last year, Patnaik approached the Prime Minister's office, which, in turn, enquired with the bank about the fraud. The bank, however, replied that the case had been disposed of. With no relief from police, he finally approached the CM's office last month. "After knocking the doors of authorities at various levels, when I approached the CM's office and the PM's office, their intervention helped me get the FIR filed at Powai police station on May 25. It may sound incredible that investigation is yet to start," he said. Powai police senior inspector Bhai Mahadeshwar said he has to look into the matter.
Mumbai: A senior citizen from Powai who lost Rs43,290 to a credit card fraud in August 2014 had to run from pillar to post for almost three years just to get an FIR registered. And that too happened only after the intervention of the chief minister's office.
With so much time lost just for the probe process to start, the victim, 77-year-old KC Patnaik, wonders, if the fraudster would ever be caught and he would get back his money. Patnaik, general manager with Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, said if the police had started investigations in time, the fraudster could have been easily caught as he contacted him again in 2015.
In his complaint, Patnaik said that on August 19, 2014, he received a call from a man claiming to be bank tele-caller who said the bank wanted to give him bonus for reward points he had earned. "The fraudster had all details of my account—from date of birth to balance in the card. He asked my mother's name to execute the fraud. Then he asked me to give the OTP that I had received. Within minutes about Rs39,000 was gone. But the nationalised bank did not send an alert. The next day after a second transaction for Rs4,290 was carried out I got an sms alert," Patnaik said in his complaint.
On August 22, 2014, Patnaik approached Powai police but they didn't register an FIR. After making rounds of Powai police station, he went to the police commissionerate, where he was against directed to Powai police.
"I rushed to the bank to know to whose account the money was transferred. If police had taken the matter seriously then they could have easily caught the fraudster. Neither police or the bank was helpful. Even though I had submitted a 'dispute' application for the transaction, the bank made me pay for the money withdrawn by the fraudster," he told TOI.
Even as he was struggling to get an FIR registered, Patnaik again received a call from the fraudster in May 2015 claiming that he wanted to return the money.
Last year, Patnaik approached the Prime Minister's office, which, in turn, enquired with the bank about the fraud. The bank, however, replied that the case had been disposed of. With no relief from police, he finally approached the CM's office last month. "After knocking the doors of authorities at various levels, when I approached the CM's office and the PM's office, their intervention helped me get the FIR filed at Powai police station on May 25. It may sound incredible that investigation is yet to start," he said. Powai police senior inspector Bhai Mahadeshwar said he has to look into the matter.