History-sheeter cheats doc with ‘sister’ decoy

The accused was identified as Hariprasad K (29) of Medavakkam. According to Ambattur Industrial Estate police, who arrested him based on a complaint from victim Vigneshwaran, a doctor, Hariprasad met both the woman lecturer and Vigneshwaran on a popular online marketplace and used them against one another to commit the fraud.

A few days ago, Vigneshwaran had posted online that he wanted to sell his mobile phone worth Rs one lakh for Rs 90,000 and shared photos and his contact number. Hariprasad contacted Vigneshwaran and expressed interest to buy the phone, and asked him to come to a restaurant in Mogappair. When Vigneshwaran visited the restaurant, Hariprasad was sitting with a woman, whom he introduced as his sister.

With Vigneshwaran’s permission, Hariprasad inserted his SIM card and told Vigneshwaran to speak to his sister while he stepped out to make a call apparently to ensure that the phone was working fine.

As Hariprasad did not return for a long time, Vigneshwaran spoke to the woman and realised that both of them were cheated by Hariprasad. While he claimed to be a software engineer to Vigneshwaran, he had told the woman lecturer that he was a PhD student and sought her help to complete his research. Believing him, the woman had come to meet him in person. After registering the case, the Ambattur police examined over 100 CCTV footages to establish the Hariprasad’s trail up to Medavakkam, which made it easy for them to trace and secure him. Investigation revealed that Hariprasad called the woman first and then Vigneshwaran to the restaurant. “Before Vigneshwaran’s arrival, Hariprasad spoke to the woman lecturer. Since Hariprasad claimed that she looked like his sister, she did not say anything when he introduced her later as his sister to Vigneshwaran,” said Inspector Vijayaraghavan.

After arresting Hariprasad, Ambattur police said he was neither a software engineer nor a PhD student, but a history-sheeter at Medavakkam police station with robbery and theft charges pending against him. Vigneshwaran’s phone was recovered and Hariprasad was remanded in judicial custody on Thursday.