In a shocking case of financial fraud, a tea seller from Kalibari, 79 Tilla, Agartala, has accused his neighbors of stealing over Rs3 lakh by misusing his mobile phone to conduct unauthorized UPI transactions.
The victim, Nabadwip Saha, who runs a small tea stall near his home, filed a formal complaint against his neighbors, Pritosh Deb, also known as Dayal, and his sister, Rumpa Deb, seeking justice for the fraud. Following the complaint, the police arrested Pritosh Deb, the prime accused in the case.
Saha, who had a savings account at the State Bank of India’s Kunjaban Branch, was unfamiliar with mobile banking or UPI transactions and relied solely on in-person banking services. The fraud allegedly began when Pritosh Deb borrowed Saha’s mobile phone, claiming that he had lost his own. Trusting his neighbor, Saha handed over the phone. An hour later, Rumpa Deb also borrowed the phone, saying she needed to call a beauty parlour. After visiting their house, Saha retrieved his phone from Pritosh Deb.
Later, Saha noticed unfamiliar bank messages on his phone. When he questioned the siblings, they convinced him that the messages were harmless promotional notifications and deleted them to cover up their actions.
The fraud came to light on February 25, 2025, when Saha deposited Rs 40,000 into his account and updated his passbook. He discovered a balance of Rs 40,879. Further investigation revealed that on February 16, 2024, his account had a balance of Rs 3,04,347, but multiple UPI transactions had drained the funds by July 9, 2024.
Saha, who never had a UPI ID and was unaware of digital transactions, accused Pritosh Deb of creating a UPI ID linked to his account and siphoning off the money. He also claimed that he never received SMS notifications about the unauthorized withdrawals, raising suspicions of possible collusion or technical failure.
The case is under investigation, and Pritosh Deb remains in police custody. Authorities are working to uncover further details about how the fraud was conducted and whether others were involved.
