BENGALURU: Girinagar police on Tuesday questioned a 34-year-old gym trainer, over allegations of cheating his techie friend to the tune of Rs 7 lakh, after promising the latter of helping him get six-pack abs in a short period of time.
A senior police officer said that based on a complaint by Koushik K (26), a notice was issued to Mohan Kumar, who runs Empower Gym in Hosakerehalli.
During the investigation, police learnt that Koushik decided to help Kumar run the gym, which was facing losses amidst the pandemic. Kumar, who himself was in financial crisis, told Koushik that they would share the profits after a few months. "After questioning Kumar, we have asked him to submit bank transaction details and the partnership agreement as part of the investigation," the officer added.
In his complaint, Koushik, a private IT firm employee, has alleged that Kumar extorted money from him on the pretext of helping him develop six-pack abs in a short period of time.
Koushik paid Rs 3,000 as joining fees for three months. He additionally paid Rs 15,000 for supplements and spent another Rs 62,000 towards a diet package. Soon, Kumar and Koushik became friends. Kumar reportedly shared his financial problems with Koushik and sought Rs 1 lakh. Koushik also took a personal loan of Rs 5 lakh to help Kumar, who convinced him that he would pay back in monthly instalments. Initially, Kumar paid a couple of instalments, before demanding Rs 2 lakh more. But he allegedly stopped paying them thereafter.
When bank staff visited Koushik's house for document verification, his father asked him why he needed the money, to which Koushik replied that he had been helping his gym trainer. When the two met Kumar and asked him to return the money, the latter offered Rs 30,000, requesting more time to return the remaining sum. Unconvinced, Koushik approached police and filed a complaint against Kumar, who has denied the charges.