Fake visa dreams, club connections: Man dupes Delhi resident of Rs 9.25 lakh, held

New Delhi: What began as a seemingly routine investigation into an online visa fraud targeting a resident of northwest Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh exposed a cyber fraud network with links to Mumbai, where the alleged mastermind used to recruit mule account holders by befriending managers of popular clubs.

The case came to light when police received an online complaint of a visa fraud for an overseas job of around Rs 9.3 lakh. A case was registered.

Investigation revealed that the calling number had been registered against a mule identity and the account beneficiaries led cops to Mumbai. However, police found it suspicious that the accounts were functioning normally. The alleged beneficiaries were found to be managers in clubs, police said, adding that all of them mentioned a common person frequenting their clubs.

“The accused used a fake identity and sugar-coated words before borrowing and all of a sudden transferred excess amount in their accounts. Some of this, he claimed, should be used against his dues and other for future expenses in the club,” said DCP (northwest) Akanksha Yadav.

The accused, identified as Anup Dharmole, a 30-year-old from Ahmednagar, was traced and arrested from a hotel in Panvel.

In a separate case, police busted an online shopping fraud racket and arrested a 33-year-old man for allegedly duping people through fake social media advertisements offering branded suits and sarees.

Police had received a complaint from a Shahdara resident, claiming that she had been cheated of around Rs 50,000 after she paid for discounted clothes and was later blocked.

Accused Sarup Khan was operating the cyber fraud racket from Loharwadi village in Rajasthan.