A man claimed that he was "hypnotised" and duped of Rs 98,000 by three people who befriended him on social media and kidnapped him, police said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Vinay (24), Naveen (24), Rohit (24) and Akash (22), were arrested on Monday, police said.
"On September 26, at 11.16 pm, a call was received at Ranhola police station regarding the kidnapping and robbery of a man. He said that three men hypnotized him and made him transfer Rs 98,000 to different accounts," a senior police officer said.
Based on his complaint, an FIR was registered. The team checked the CCTV footage and arrested the accused on Monday, he said.
Both Vinay and Naveen work for a food delivery application. Akash is a labourer and Rohit is unemployed, police said.
"We have recovered Rs 27,000 of the cheated amount from them," Deputy Commissioner of Police Jimmy Chiram said.
"During interrogation, the accused told the police that they used friendship applications to connect with people and cheat them. Vinay confessed that he cheated people to release his gold chain from a finance company. While Naveen had to pay the instalments of his motorcycle," DCP Chiram said.
Further investigation is underway, DCP Chiram added.
