New Delhi: The Delhi police arrested a woman for allegedly duping around 150 people from India and Nepal for over Rs 4 crore under the pretext of providing jobs abroad, officials said on Saturday. Police said the Economic Offences Wing registered a case last month and launched a probe into the matter.
"We have received several complaints from all over India including Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, followed by another 29 complaints from residents of Nepal, alleging fraudulent activities orchestrated by a woman," Deputy Commissioner of Police (EOW) Vikram K Porwal said.
The accused, kingpin of the gang, was arrested on Thursday from her residence in Zirakpur in Punjab, police said.
"During the investigation, we learned that the accused would open her office in posh areas to win the victims' trust. She had previously opened offices in areas like Crown Heights in Rohini. One of the offices was in Sector 17 in Chandigarh," the DCP said.
The accused told the police that she would initially charge the victims Rs 6,000 and gradually ask them to shell out an amount up to Rs 5 lakh, he said.
According to police, the accused and her associates also ran a website and promoted their fraudulent firm on social media.
"After collecting huge amounts at one place, they abruptly shut down the office and absconded, and later opened an office in another city with a new name of the firm, new website and contact numbers. She also used to hire new telecallers," the DCP said.
The police recovered two laptops, over 10 mobile phones, and three passports and other incriminating documents, he said. The woman is from Rajasthan and pursued her undergraduate studies in Arts at Rajasthan University before commencing her career as a telecaller, he said. "The accused is in police custody. We are interrogating her about other associates," said the DCP
