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Nashik farmer duped of Rs 29 lakh with promise of $500,000 lottery

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"Since inception, it's been systematically planned and executed that one never feels there is something amiss in the process. I spoke to several people over the phone and via e-mail, who, I was made to believe, represented different government departments, thus, it was difficult to not fall into their trap, " said Namdev Warade, a farmer from Nashik, who cyber criminals duped to the tune of Rs29 lakh by promising him a lottery of $500,000.

Warade, who still uses the same mobile phone number on which he first received the message informing him about his name being shortlisted in an online lottery held in London, added, "Because the amount I was to receive was so big, I never discussed it with my friends, who could have cautioned me. I regret that now."

The soft-spoken 49-year-old had moved the Bombay high court, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the fraud, which was executed by 16 people; only one of them has been arrested so far. However, the court refused to grant his prayer but directed the state home department to issue direction to mobile phone and e-mail service providers to alert their customers from falling prey to such messages.

Warade, who lived in a big house with his family, went into depression, on realising in 2011 that he had been duped, and had to be hospitalised for two months.

"My three children had to take gaps in their education for two years as I could not afford to support them. Apart from this, the social backlash, after my relatives and friends came to know about the fraud, was more stressful. All only questioned how could I have let myself be lured into something like this. Thus, I had no option but to distance myself from society," he said.

Warade, to pay the (fraudsters') demands, sold off a major part of his house and wife's jewellery, and also borrowed heavily from friends and relatives.

Disappointed by the police, who took three months to register an FIR, he said, "The police did not probe proactively; call records, bank records and other tracking methods were not adopted to get to the accused."

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