Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi praised an Amreli court’s decision to sentence a Nigerian woman to seven years in prison for cyber fraud, emphasizing that this serves as a strong deterrent to cybercriminals. Sanghavi highlighted the state government’s commitment to citizen safety and the Gujarat Police’s capability in combating cybercrimes in the digital age. He credited the successful conviction to Gujarat’s zero-tolerance policy against cyber offenses under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s leadership.
The convicted individual, Veronica Andrew Annika Lethabo, also known by other names, defrauded a man of Rs 14.09 lakh by deceiving him with the promise of a ‘surprise gift’. She received the maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment and a fine for various offenses under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. Minister of State for Law, Kaushik Vekaria, attributed the stringent punishment to a thorough investigation and effective evidence presentation during the trial.
The case involved the accused posing as a foreign friend on Instagram in June 2023 and duping the victim into transferring money under false pretenses. Despite the elaborate scheme, the victim never received the promised gift and reported the incident to the Amreli cybercrime police station in July 2023. The investigation, which included analyzing digital footprints and call records, led authorities to Gurugram, where the accused was apprehended in May 2024 with incriminating evidence in her possession.
