Chandigarh: A Uttar Pradesh resident lost nearly Rs 90,000 after three unidentified youths allegedly befriended him at the ISBT in Sector 43, observed his UPI PIN while he was making a payment, and later fled with his mobile phone and cash.Based on the victim’s complaint, Sector 17 police have registered a case against three unknown persons and started an investigation.Deepak Kumar, a resident of Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh who works as a painter, told police that after completing work in Kasauli on June 17, he reached the Sector 43 bus stand to return home. There, he met two youths who struck up a conversation and claimed they were also travelling to Bijnor. They suggested travelling together to the Sector 17 bus stand.According to the complaint, the trio stopped at a dhaba and later had sugarcane juice, with Deepak making the payments through PhonePe. During this time, the accused allegedly saw the password used to unlock his phone and his UPI PIN.Deepak said they later boarded an auto-rickshaw for Sector 17. Near the Sector 22/23 traffic signal, the driver dropped them off, where a third youth was waiting. Claiming he had misplaced his phone and needed to make an urgent call, the youth asked to borrow Deepak’s mobile phone. As soon as Deepak handed it over, all three allegedly fled from the spot with the device.The victim said he later reached the Sector 17 bus stand and contacted his family with the help of a passerby. The next day, after checking his bank account in Panipat, he discovered that Rs 80,000 was transferred from his account. He also reported losing Rs 10,000 in cash that was kept inside the phone cover.Following verification of the complaint, police registered a case and have begun examining CCTV footage from the area to identify the suspects. No arrests have been made so far.
