Siliguri women duped 2 lakhs by Facebook friend

A middle-aged woman of Siliguri was lured into parting with Rs 2 lakh by a Facebook friend who assured her a surprise gift, said  SMP police.
According to police, the victim, Reema Thakur, a resident of Subhas Pally, was first asked to clear a tax to receive the gift. Falling into the trap, she deposited Rs 2 lakh in various bank accounts only to realize soon that she had been duped.
Reena is an ICDS worker who came into contact with Richard Brooke through Facebook in November last year. She deposited the money in different banks after receiving calls from two persons who called themselves Chris Evans, and Larry Smith, asking her for more money. In total, she deposited Rs 2 lakh in 5 accounts.
A case under section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the IPC has been registered against Brooke, Evans, and Smith. Meanwhile, efforts are on to trace details of the bank accounts in which the money had been deposited, said the SMP officer. Three similar cases have been reported at the Siliguri Cyber Police Station earlier. (HS)