Hyderabad: A family struggling to raise money for the treatment of their 12-year-old son, who has been bedridden with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) for five years, was allegedly cheated of ₹84,000 by cyber fraudsters who promised to help fund his treatment.Rokkam Rajesh and his wife Prashanthi, originally from Ramannagudem in Eluru district, migrated to Aswaraopeta in Bhadradri Kothagudem district six years ago and have been working as daily-wage labourers. Their son, Ritwik Joel (12) was diagnosed with DMD, a rare genetic disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness. His condition gradually worsened and he has been bedridden for the past five years.Rajesh told TOI that the family had already borrowed around ₹15 lakh to meet Ritwik’s medical expenses. Doctors have now advised gene therapy, for which an injection would have to be procured from abroad, he said. The treatment is expected to cost around ₹26 crore.“With no means to meet the huge expense, we posted a video on social media seeking financial assistance for our son’s treatment. Some unidentified persons who saw the video obtained Prashanthi’s phone number and contacted her,” Rajesh said.The callers allegedly told the couple that they had a large amount of unaccounted money and wanted to donate ₹25 lakh towards Ritwik’s treatment. They then told the couple that they would have to pay ₹84,000 towards expenses for transferring the promised assistance.Believing them, Prashanthi pledged her earrings and gold belonging to her mother and raised ₹40,000. The couple borrowed another ₹50,000 and transferred a total of ₹84,000 to the number provided by the callers in several instalments.After receiving the money, the callers stopped responding and their phone number became unreachable. The couple then realised that they had been cheated and approached the local police on Monday.Y Raju, Aswaraopeta SI, said a cheating and cyber fraud case had been registered. Police are examining the transactions and phone numbers used by the suspects as part of the investigation.
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