Cyber fraudsters allegedly scammed a Pune man out of Rs 6 lakh last month after sending a message about the payment of a Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL) bill to the mobile phone of his 91-year-old father-in-law.The 64-year-old resident of Warje Malwadi filed an FIR regarding this incident at the Warje police station on April 4. He said he visited his father-in-law in the Kothrud area on March 30.He said the father-in-law showed him a message on his cell phone about payment of the MNGL bill. The message allegedly carried the contact number of ‘MNGL manager Devesh Joshi’.As stated in the FIR, the complainant called this number and spoke with a person claiming to be Devesh Joshi, who said that his father-in-law had paid the MNGL bill but still received a bill payment message.The fraudster allegedly said that many UPI transactions occurred on the day the MNGL bill was paid, which was why his father-in-law’s payment status was not updated.The fraudster then allegedly sent an Android Package Kit (APK) file to the father-in-law’s mobile phone, asking him to submit the required information to update the MNGL bill payment details.The complainant said that his father-in-law did not use internet banking services via his phone. The fraudster then allegedly noted the complainant’s mobile phone number and sent the APK file to him on WhatsApp.Story continues below this adThe complainant opened the APK file and found information containing the MNGL logo. The complainant said he was initially asked to transfer Rs 7 for updating the MNGL bill. Accordingly, he submitted his bank account details for making the payment, but nothing happened.Then, as per the fraudster’s instructions, the complainant allegedly sent him a photograph of his debit card via WhatsApp. The fraudster then allegedly cut the phone call, assuring to update the MNGL bill.However, after some time, the complainant received messages saying that Rs 6 lakh had been transferred from his bank account to another bank account through three online transactions of Rs 2 lakh each.The police said that after the complainant clicked the APK file and submitted his bank details and a photograph of his debit card, cyber fraudsters gained access to his cell phone and transferred Rs 6 lakh from his bank account without his consent.Story continues below this adThe police booked the unidentified accused under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 318 (4) and 319 (2) [cheating], and the Information Technology Act. They are probing the mobile phone numbers and bank accounts used by the cybercriminals to commit the crime.The police said there have been multiple cases in the past, too, in which cyber fraudsters duped people by asking them to pay MNGL bills or face disconnection of their domestic gas connections.Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd