Looking to expand his business, a 50-year-old dairy farmer searched online to purchase a cow and found four at a steal deal of Rs 95,000. He paid an advance of Rs 22,000 in four installments — before he realised that there were no cows for sale and it was all an elaborate scam.
The farmer, Sukhbir, is a resident of Gurgaon’s Pandala. His son, Parveen (30), said he was caught unawares when he found that it would only cost him Rs 35,000 online as compared to around Rs 1 lakh he would have to pay offline.
According to his complaint, the farmer found a contact number on Google to purchase a cow. “I then started receiving photos of cows on my WhatsApp number. I transferred a total of Rs 22,999 in four transactions between January 19 and 20. Later, I realised that I had been deceived,” Sukhbir alleged in the complaint.
Parveen said his father was using his phone.
“He was watching YouTube videos and I don’t know how he found the link to the website — if it was through an ad or if he checked online for cows. He saw a number and called them. He asked them if he could visit and they gave him a location. The accused even sent photos of cows for him to select. They initially told my father he would have to pay Rs 35,000 and when he asked for four cows, they lowered the price to Rs 95,000. They said the cows would be given under the name of a gaushala. Initially, Rs 8,000 was paid and when he enquired about the status, the accused said the cows were in Ferozepur Jhirka and they needed more money. More transactions were made and when they asked for even more money, my father was alarmed and lodged the complaint. When he confronted them, they started threatening him,” he told The Indian Express.
Parveen said they have five cows and his father was trying to expand the business.
According to police, it was found during the investigation that the Rs 22,999 paid by the farmer was transferred to an Axis Bank account.
“Subsequently, a notice was issued to the relevant account and it has been frozen. A notice has been issued to the bank to obtain records. Further investigation will be carried out once the records are received. The investigation is ongoing,” a senior police officer said.
The FIR has been lodged under Indian Penal Code sections of cheating (419 and 420) against unknown persons, said police.
