Delhi Police have busted a fraudster gang and arrested 4 persons, including 2 women, who duped people in lieu of offering handsome salary for gigolo and masseur service, official said on Sunday.
Over 100 people were defrauded in the past two years by the accused, who have been identified as Shubham Ahuja, Udit Mehta, Neha Chhabra, and Archna Ahuja. Usha Rangnani, the deputy commissioner of police for the north-west, said the cyber police station had received a complaint from a man who claimed to have received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number offering him a job as a male masseur, which involved visiting people's homes and massaging them for a fee.
"When he contacted the given mobile number, he was asked to pay Rs3500 as registration fee. The complainant paid the amount through Paytm," the DCP mentioned.He was then induced to pay Rs12,600 for buying a massage equipment kit, Rs.15,500 for preparing an entry card and Rs9,400 for booking a hotel room.
For every payment, the complainant was promised that he will get back the complete amount in cash from their clients. The accused requested further funds after the complainant had already paid Rs 9,400 to have another admission card made. The complainant declined and requested a refund. The complainant gave the claimed individuals a total of Rs.47,200, but he never received the job. Later, he realised that the job offer was a ruse and he had been taken advantage of.
In accordance with Section 420 of the IPC, the police opened an investigation.
A team was assembled to conduct technical surveillance and gather beneficiary account information during the investigation.
The details were scrutinised and based on the results, a search warrant was issued for the Janak Park neighbourhood in Hari Nagar, where the police also conducted an arrest of all four defendants and collected digital evidence, including seven mobile phones, one laptop, ATM cards, and other documents that were later connected to the fraud in the current case.
The defendants admitted during detailed questioning that they had previously posted adverts on dating apps, WhatsApp, and social media sites. When they first met in a hotel, they used to persuade the victims that their wealthy female clients would reimburse all of the money.
The DCP said, "Shubham Ahuja was the mastermind of the racket and controlled his network from a rented facility in Janak Park." The officer also said that he paid tele-callers Neha Chhabra and Archna Ahuja salaries of Rs 15,000 each and Rs 20,000 to manager Udit Mehta.
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