Fraudsters initially credit gaming winnings to gain student's trust before allegedly manipulating results to make him lose

Nagpur: A 23-year-old MBBS student from Government Medical College (GMC), Nagpur, was allegedly duped of Rs 12.33 lakh by cyber fraudsters who used an online Ludo gaming application to lure him into repeated financial transactions over nearly nine months.

The fraud reportedly occurred between January 1 and September 19.

According to the police complaint, the victim came across an advertisement for an online gaming application called 'Try Players' while watching videos on YouTube. Tempted by the prospect of earning money, he clicked on the link, downloaded the APK file and registered using his mobile number.

The operators allegedly began by crediting the money he won directly into his bank account. These initial payouts helped establish credibility and encouraged him to participate in games with increasingly higher stakes.

However, once he started investing larger amounts, the gaming system was allegedly manipulated to ensure his repeated defeats. The fraudsters used different UPI IDs to collect money through 284 separate transactions, siphoning off a total of Rs 12,33,184.

When the victim realised he had been cheated and sought a refund, the operators allegedly stopped responding and blocked his mobile number.

Following his complaint, Nagpur Cyber Police registered an offence against unidentified persons under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

Police are investigating the bank transactions, UPI IDs and mobile numbers used in the alleged fraud to identify those behind the gaming racket.