Shillong: A man from Upper Nongstoin, West Khasi Hills, has lodged a complaint at the Cantonment Police Beat House, East Khasi Hills, after ₹35,000 was allegedly transferred from his bank account through GPay to an unfamiliar phone number.
The complainant, identified as R. Marngar, told reporters that the incident occurred on September 3, 2026, at around 5 PM after he purchased snacks worth ₹180 from a vendor at Anjali, Shillong.
According to Marngar, he asked the vendor for a QR code to make the ₹180 payment digitally. Instead, the vendor allegedly provided him with a phone number. Marngar said that after entering the number, his phone prompted him to enter his UPI PIN even before he had entered the ₹180 amount. After entering the PIN, his phone reportedly stopped functioning.
Unable to complete the digital payment, he borrowed ₹180 from a friend and paid the vendor in cash.
Marngar said that after returning to his village, he attempted to use GPay to pay his vehicle fare but discovered that there was no money left in his account. Upon checking his transaction history, he allegedly found that ₹35,000 had been transferred to a phone number he did not recognise.
Screenshots from his mobile phone reportedly showed that the number, ending in 5922, appeared to have been newly registered on GPay in September 2026.
Marngar returned to Shillong on September 4 and approached the snack vendor to enquire about the phone number allegedly provided to him. According to Marngar, the vendor denied having any knowledge of the matter, prompting him to lodge a police complaint.
Marngar thanked the police for assisting him in filing the complaint and urged the authorities to investigate the transaction and help recover his money.
The exact circumstances surrounding the ₹35,000 transaction, including whether the phone number provided by the vendor was connected to the transfer, remain subject to police investigation.
