Hooghly Biryani Scam: fraudsters cheat 4 shopkeepers of Rs. 2 lakh with fake IRCTC food deals

A fraud has been uncovered in Chuchura, Hooghly, where local biryani shopkeepers were deceived into paying over Rs. 2 lakh under the pretense of supplying biryani to long-distance IRCTC trains. The fraud started when Nityananda Dikshit, a resident of Hooghly Ghat Mogulpura, approached Mohammad Gulam Sabir, who owns a biryani shop at the Clock Tower area of Chuchura, with an offer to supply 1,600 packets of biryani daily to trains running under IRCTC’s catering services, at a rate of Rs. 80 per packet.

Sabir, after discussing the offer with three other shopkeepers in the area, agreed to proceed. A formal agreement was signed, and the fraudsters provided a verification code from IRCTC to add authenticity to the proposal. As per the arrangement, Rs. 50,000 was collected from each of the four shopkeepers, totaling Rs. 2 lakh. Additionally, the fraudsters asked for a processing fee of Rs. 1,280, which was also paid by the shopkeepers.

The situation began to unravel when Sabir, who was increasingly suspicious, conducted further checks and discovered that the process of supplying food on trains is conducted solely through an online system managed by IRCTC, without any cash involvement. This raised significant doubts about the legitimacy of the offer. The fraudsters’ attempt to collect more money on Monday night further heightened suspicions. Sabir detained the young man sent to collect the payment and initiated inquiries.

Upon further investigation, Sabir was unable to contact Dikshit or his associate, Robin Majumdar, who had been involved in arranging the deal. Believing the arrangement to be fraudulent, Sabir contacted the police, who apprehended the young man. Authorities are now investigating the matter, and efforts are underway to locate and arrest Dikshit, Majumdar, and any other individuals connected to the scam. The police are also looking into the operations of the fraudsters to determine if similar schemes have been carried out in other areas.