Panchkula, April 5 -- A couple from Madhya Pradesh, currently residing in Pinjore, was allegedly duped of Rs.2.19 lakh by unknown persons on the pretext of offering a soft drink dealership. Rohit Acharya, a native of Madhya Pradesh and a resident of Pinjore, lodged a complaint in this regard. He works as a senior executive in a pharmaceutical company in Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), while his wife, Jyoti, runs a shop in Pinjore. According to the complaint, Jyoti had applied for a dealership of a soft drink company. When she did not receive any response, she searched for the company's customer care number online. The caller provided her with another mobile number and asked her to contact a person for further assistance. During the conversation, the accused, posing as a company representative, shared an email ID and asked her to submit the dealership form. Subsequently, he demanded Rs.20,550 as a registration fee, which was transferred on February 11. Later, she was asked to select products worth Rs.2.5 lakh and deposit 50% of the amount. She transferred Rs.95,000 in two transactions. On February 14, another payment of Rs.37,260 was made at the behest of the accused. The next day, she was asked to deposit Rs.1.25 lakh as a security amount for delivery, following which the complainant transferred Rs.62,000. On February 20, the accused demanded an additional Rs.31,000 as visiting charges for a team of company officials. At this point, the complainant and his wife grew suspicious, stopped making further payments and realised they had been cheated. They subsequently lodged a complaint with the cyber crime police. The cyber crime police station has registered a case under Sections 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and initiated an investigation....