NAGPUR: A 64-year-old resident of New Colony in Nagpur was allegedly cheated of ₹82.30 lakh by cyber fraudsters who promised him an insurance claim settlement of over ₹1.29 crore in connection with an old policy. The fraud came to light after the victim approached the police, following which the Cyber Police registered a case on October 27.

According to the complaint, Rajendra Gopichand Mohta, a former nut-and-bolt manufacturer, had purchased an insurance policy of IIFL Limited, Mumbai, through an agent in 2015. Under the policy, he was required to pay an annual premium of ₹50,000 for 10 years, after which he was supposed to receive ₹10 lakh. He paid premiums until 2020, but the company subsequently shut down.

Taking advantage of the situation, a fraudster allegedly contacted Mohta from mobile number 8743072435, introduced himself as Dayanand Shastri and falsely claimed to be calling from the Insurance Ombudsman.

The caller allegedly told Mohta that he was eligible to receive ₹1,29,76,421 as an insurance claim settlement through the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). To gain his trust, the fraudster also sent him a purported NPCI letter through WhatsApp.

The accused then demanded various charges, including payment processing, disbursement and submission fees, claiming these were necessary to release the insurance amount.

Trusting the caller, Mohta allegedly transferred a total of ₹82,30,185 through UPI and RTGS transactions.

He later realised that he had been cheated and approached the police.

Cyber Police registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Information Technology Act and other sections mentioned in the police record. The accused has not been arrested, and further investigation is underway.