LUCKNOW, May 14 -- A 20-year-old makeup artist from Thakurganj was allegedly defrauded of Rs 1.48 crore by fraudsters posing as bank officials, who lured her with a fake Rs 10 crore business loan offer and convinced her to travel to Goa with a gold biscuit worth Rs 14 lakh as a "gift" for a fictitious bank officer. The victim, Ishrat Khan, a resident of Balaganj near Mari Mata Mandir, filed a complaint that led to an FIR (first information report) being registered on Monday, as directed by the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) West. The incident came to light on Tuesday. Thakurganj station house officer (SHO) Shrikant Rai confirmed that an investigation is underway. Two accused, including one identified as Kejal Porwal, along with unidentified others, have been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 66D of the Information Technology Act. According to the FIR, Ishrat had registered in November 2023 on loan aggregator websites to apply for a business loan. Soon after, she was contacted by a person who introduced himself as Kejal Porwal, claiming to be a representative of a government bank's business loan department. Over the next several weeks, the callers allegedly demanded money under various pretexts such as file charges, stamp duty, insurance, processing fees, and verification charges, eventually extracting Rs 1.48 crore from her. When the promised loan amount was repeatedly delayed, Porwal allegedly told Ishrat that the State Bank of India's regional head was in Goa and could approve the disbursement if she met him in person. He advised her to take a gold biscuit as a "gift" to facilitate the process. Believing the claims, Ishrat travelled to Goa and handed over a gold biscuit worth Rs 14 lakh to the supposed bank officer.According to the FIR, she was told the loan would be disbursed within five days of the meeting. When the funds did not arrive, she grew suspicious and visited the SBI branch in Chowk, Lucknow, only to learn that no such loan or officer existed. Upon confronting Porwal, he allegedly abused her, following which she approached the police.htc...