Pondicherry dealer tricked of Rs 2.5 lakh

A red alert has been flashed among traders in Tamil Nadu after a dealer in
Pondicherry was tricked of 10 laptops worth Rs 2.5 lakh. The accused-Vivek
Shiny-claiming to be a native of Chittor, Andhra Pradesh, had been negotiating
for over a month with S Ramamurthy, CEO of Pondicherry-based Selvaram Systems
for buying laptops.

“Shiny was negotiating with me for placing an order of 30 laptops. I offered
him HCL laptops and gave him a quotation of Rs 21,200 per laptop,” said
Ramamurthy. The trickster

paid an advance amount of Rs 20,000 for placing the order and said he would pick
up the goods in phases.

“After receiving the advance, I requested him to fax the purchase order,
which he did from Chittor. I couldn't provide him the HCL laptops within the
specified date, so I offered him Compaq Presario for a slightly higher price,
which he accepted,” Ramamurthy informed.

On March 27, Shiny came with a DD for Rs 2,12,000 from UCO Bank, Tirupathi
branch. Ramamurthy said that after verifying the DD from the local bank he
handed Shiny the first batch of 10 laptops.

“It seems the bank verified the DD manually, because a few days later they
found that it was fake and informed me. The only contact detail I had of the
customer was his mobile number and from the very next day, his mobile was
switched off,” informed, Ramamurthy.

Making things worse for Ramamurthy was the bank's claims that he issued a
fake DD. The bank has also taken possession of the original DD, without which
Ramamurthy cannot lodge a police complaint.

He is yet to bring the issue to the notice of Pondicherry IT Traders
Association, as he is busy dealing with the police and the bank.