Cheats extort over 1 lakh from cook

Mumbai: A fraudster called up a cook from Ghatkopar and told him his son had been booked in a rape case and demanded money to prevent his arrest. He and his aides managed to extort Rs 1.25 lakh from the cook. The police case against unknown persons mentioned the involvement of at least two people in the fraud. The police suspect someone known to the cook as the caller seemed to know quite a bit about the him.The police said the 55-year-old complainant, who worked in a restaurant, transferred the money online to various bank accounts. The police asked the banks to freeze the accounts where the money was transferred. “The way the caller described the rape case, the victim believed him and got scared,” a police officer said. “The victim decided to pay up and get rid of the case. Initially, the caller asked him to transfer Rs 50,000 in certain bank accounts. He was then asked to transfer the rest to another account.”When the cook’s son came home, the cook spoke to him and realised the fraud.