In a shocking betrayal of lifelong trust, a young man from Moga, identified as Prabhjot Singh of Kapure village of Moga, fell victim to an extortion plot allegedly orchestrated by none other than his childhood friend, Amandeep Singh, who has been settled in Canada for the past 20 years.
Instead of helping him realise his dream of moving abroad, the accused and his accomplices used the bond of friendship as a bait to trap, drug and hold the youth hostage, successfully extorting Rs 22 lakh from his family.
As per the FIR registered by the Moga police, Prabhjot approached his old friend for assistance in moving to Canada. Trusting him blindly, the victim’s father, Gurinder Singh allegedly paid an advance of Rs 2 lakh to cover visa and travel arrangements.
However, instead of securing a flight ticket to Canada, the accused lured the youth into a trap. Rather than being sent abroad, Prabhjot was secretly taken to Kolkata, where he was confined against his will in a hideout.
While he was held captive in Kolkata, the kidnappers heavily drugged him. Under the severe influence of intoxicants and extreme coercion, Prabhjot was forced to call his family back in Moga. Disoriented, he told his family that he had “successfully landed in Canada" and was doing completely fine.
Overjoyed and relieved by the news, the unsuspecting family fell straight into the trap. To clear the remaining “dues" for his safe arrival, his father Gurinder Singh promptly transferred an additional Rs 20 lakh to the fraudsters, bringing the total amount scammed to Rs 22 lakh.
The celebratory mood in the victim’s household quickly turned into sheer panic when subsequent attempts to contact him went unanswered. The grand illusion shattered when the family realized he had never left the country, but was instead being held hostage in Kolkata by the very friend they had trusted. Days after Prabhjot returned home and narrated the story of deception, a formal complaint was lodged by his father, following which the local Moga police have registered a case.
