Udupi: Woman duped of Rs 1.45 lakh by fraudsters posing as gas company officials

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Mar 18, 2026: A woman in Udupi has allegedly been duped of Rs 1.45 lakh by fraudsters posing as representatives of a gas company.

In a complaint filed with Udupi Town Police, Lili Florin D’Silva stated that she received a call around 11.30 am on March 11 from a person who identified himself as Devesh Joshi, claiming to be from Mahanagar Gas Limited, Mumbai.

The caller told her that her online gas payment had not been updated and sent an APK file via WhatsApp, asking her to download it.

Believing the claim, she installed the application. The accused later called again, citing a technical issue, and obtained her husband’s bank account details.

Subsequently, the complainant received SMS alerts of unauthorised transactions. An amount of Rs 46,636 and Rs 29,381 was withdrawn from her bank account (Mumbai branch), while Rs 69,005.31 was debited from her husband’s account at Santhekatte.

In total, Rs 1,45,022 was fraudulently withdrawn from their accounts.

Based on the complaint, Udupi Town Police have registered a case under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.