Love for cheap things can prove costly. Scores of people experienced this in Delhi and other parts of the country recently when they fell prey to fake offers promising branded smartphones at dirt cheap prices. Delhi Police have arrested three men, including a Delhi University graduate in Shahdara’s West Jyoti Nagar. They are accused of duping over 4,500 people across the country. According to police, the accused used to organise fake lucky draws and offer expensive mobile phones at nominal rates. The accused have been identified as Sanjay Panchal (22), Nikhil Soni (22) and Kunal (18).
Police said that Panchal was pursuing a correspondence course from Delhi University. On December 22 last year, police were informed that a fake call centre in east Delhi was involved in duping people in the name of lucky draws.
G Ramgopal Naik, Deputy Commissioner Of Police (crime), said the accused offered costly mobiles at “throwaway” prices but sent empty parcels to unsuspecting customers.
The accused had also created a fake website through which they used to lure customers by offering premium cellphones like iPhones, OnePlus, Samsung at a cheap rate. They had hired some delivery boys, who used to pose as postmen, deliver the parcel, get the sum of Rs 4,550 and give them an empty parcel or a dummy phone and “even stones” in some cases, police said in an official release.
Police said the accused were “involved in running a fake call centre and duping thousands of people in the name of a lucky draw and offering expensive mobile phones for a sum of Rs. 4550 only and when the phone was ordered by a customer, an empty parcel/Dummy Phone Parcel/LaxmiYantra, etc. or something else used to be sent to them through post office on cash on delivery. In this way, the accused persons have cheated more than 4500 people from all over India and details of more people cheated by them are being obtained.”
Police said 30 mobile phones, a computer, empty parcels and other documents were recovered from them. Through this modus operandi, the accused persons have duped more than 4,500 people across the country and the exact amount is yet to be disclosed.
