In his complaint, Rajwinder said he had received an e-mail saying he had won Rs 5 lakh in a lottery, following which he contacted the senders of the mail who asked him for his his bank account number. Not only did he give his account details, but Rajwinder also deposited Rs 4.25 lakh in three bank accounts. This money was asked for in the mail as the ‘processing fee’.

“I discussed the matter with my family, who said the lottery amount was huge and the processing fee too small an amount in comparison. So, I deposited the money in three accounts of Axis Bank and Bank of India, sent to me by the company in the mail,” said Rajwinder.

“It has been over two months since I sent the money, but there has been no response from the functionaries of the lottery company,” he added. He also accused the police of ignoring his complaint when he first approached them. “The case was registered only when I approached senior police officials,” he said.

The Civil Lines Police have registered the case under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468,471 and 120-B of the IPC and Sections 65, 66, 75 and 85 of the Information technology Act. Davinder Singh, SHO, Civil Lines, who registered the case after the preliminary inquiry by ASP P K Yadav, said one functionary of the lottery company has been identified by the victim as Dapenigi Pappy. “The transactions of money transferred to the three accounts have been confirmed and we are checking the international transactions made, if any,” he added.

Meanwhile, top officials admitted that the case requires a thorough probe as a Chhattisgarh-based bank is also allegedly involved. “There have been several such complaints and more cases will be registered in the days to come,” said IG, Border Range, Rajpal Meena.