Hyderabad: Fraudster who cheated PhD aspirant of Rs 4.80 lakh arrested

The victim contacted Panchapuri over phone and on being assured of a university seat, transferred an amount of Rs. 4.80 lakh to him towards various fees over a period of time.

Hyderabad: A fraudster who allegedly cheated a PhD aspirant of Rs. 4.80 lakh, was arrested from Haryana by the Rachakonda cybercrime police on Wednesday. The police seized mobile phone, two debit cards and Rs. 3,000 cash from him.

The arrested person Mohammed Rafik Panchapuri (34) of Gurugram, Haryana, joined a Facebook group ‘PhD Group’ and came in contact with the victim who is a resident of Meerpet and aspired to join a university for PhD program. Panchapuri posted advertisements in the name of Global Educator Consultancy, Varanasi, along with three mobile phone numbers in the Facebook group.

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“The victim contacted Panchapuri over phone and on being assured of a university seat, transferred an amount of Rs. 4.80 lakh to him towards various fees over a period of time. Later, Panchapuri stopped contact with the victim,” said ACP Cybercrime, S V Hari Krishna.

On a complaint the police booked a case and arrested him. The suspect was previously involved in several cheating cases registered in various police stations in Jammu Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.