A 29-year-old man who borrowed Rs 27 lakh from his friend is refusing to repay the money and has allegedly disappeared.
Varthur police are on the lookout for Shailesh Jha, who took money from his 29-year-old collegemate and software engineer Rajeshkumar Kalagadi. Jha borrowed the money from Kalagadi for his father’s medical treatment.
Kalagadi, a resident of Sun City near Kodathi Gate, and Bihar native Jha studied together in a college in Delhi. They remained in touch on the phone and on social media. Jha contacted Kalagadi in 2020 and asked for Rs 5 lakh for his father’s Covid treatment. He promised to return the money in two months.
Kalagadi transferred the money via a digital app. Jha contacted him a few days later to inform him that his father’s condition had worsened and he needs Rs 20 lakh. He promised to return everything he owed when his father recovered. Kalagadi transferred a further Rs 12 lakh to him.
Around his wedding in August 2022, Kalagadi asked Jha to return the money he borrowed. Jha said he did not have money but could repay through his credit card. He asked Kalagadi to share his ID proof and bank account details and obtained credit cards from different banks using those documents. Though Jha withdrew Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh using the credit cards, he did not pay back Kalagadi, the latter said in his police complaint.
When Kalagadi asked for his money, Jha claimed he did not owe him anything and threatened him with dire consequences if he ever asked for the money.