Shopping portal owner held for duping 22k people of Rs 70 lakh

A shopping portal owner has beenarrested for allegedly duping 22,000 people of Rs 70 lakh,police said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Ashish Ahir of Gujarat,started a portal dealing with women's wear, imitationjewellery and household items, and attracted customers byoffering heavy discounts, an official of Mumbai police's cybercell said.

''People who booked items on the portal after makingadvance payment soon realised they had been duped andapproached police. Ahir is a computer expert and started thisportal after incurring heavy losses in his garment business,''he said.

''A case was registered on January 2 and our proberevealed Ahir has duped some 22,000 people to the tune of Rs70 lakh,'' he added.