Bengaluru: Man cheats friends & relatives to fulfil gambling addiction; arrested

Bengaluru: A man was arrested for duping several of his acquaintances of crores of rupees, police said.

Kempegowda Nagar police said they have arrested Nanjambha Agrahara – resident Manoj Rao (29) on charges of cheating.

Manoj, a BCom graduate, was unemployed and was addicted to betting and gambling. Unable to fulfill his wants, he raised loans from his acquaintances for starting a business. He had promised to share the profits with some of them. But instead, he used the money for gambling at casinos in Goa and online portals, and lost it all, police said.

The matter came to light when some cheques issued for returning the loan by Manoj bounced. Kumuda and Nagesh Rao had given Manoj Rs 21 lakhs and Rs 11.5 lakhs as loans and had taken cheques from him. The cheques bounced when they were deposited at the bank.

Both Kumuda and Nagesh later filed a complaint with the Kempegowda police station against Manoj for cheating. Based on the complaint, Manoj was arrested, police said.

As the news spread, several others also approached the police with their complaints. The amount owed by Manoj is more than a crore, police added.