NEW DELHI: An interstate racket of cheats has been busted with the arrest of two men who allegedly duped more than 500 people to the tune of over Rs 12 crore on the pretext of getting their insurance policy claims paid, the Delhi Police said on Wednesday.
The accused, S S Kumar and A Nayak, both aged 29, hail from Rajasthan and were currently residing in Ghaziabad. The duo have been cheating people since 2014 usuing the same modus operand, police said.
So far, 30 complainants have been identified and linked with the alleged accused's accounts, they said.
According to police, the matter came to the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) branch of Delhi Police's Special cell wherein the complainant alleged that some unidentified people duped him of Rs 2.80 crore over the period of seven-eight years on the pretext of getting back insurance policy claims which were stuck.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) KPS Malhotra said, "During the course of investigation, exhaustive exercise of identifying the money trail and digital footprints was undertaken. It was found that about 30 bank accounts were used to dupe the complainant."
"Through analysis of the money trail and the electronic records, it was found that the racket is spread across many states and operating in many tiers. The financial analysis revealed transactions of over Rs 12 crore were done using these accounts and more than 500 victims have been duped by the racket," Malhotra said.
Technical analysis revealed that the accused had used fake SIM cards for tele-calling and fake accounts for receiving money. Through, the extensive financial trail and technical analysis, the accused were found to be operating in Dunduhera and Crossing Republic, Ghaziabad. The information was further developed through manual and electronic surveillance, the officer said.
Acting on a tip-off on July 20, a trap was laid down near Lal Quan and two people were apprehended at the spot in Ghaziabad. They confessed to their involvement in the crime, he said.
"Interrogation disclosed that they were cheating people on the pretext of insurance policy benefits since 2014. They further disclosed that they operate in tiers and usually do not meet with other members of syndicates. They procure fake SIM cards to communicate and for tele-calling and fake bank accounts for receiving the money and further transactions," he added.
Police said two mobile phones, 25 debit and credit cards have been seized from the accused. Two properties purchased from proceeds of crime have also been identified and 30 fake bank accounts have been freezed, they said.
