3 nabbed for duping retired police official

New Delhi: Three men were arrested for allegedly duping a retired West Bengal police officer on the pretext of high returns, police said on Thursday.

The accused, Pankaj Gupta (43), Gurnam Singh (52) and Vipin Kumar Luthra (62), were arrested on Wednesday, police said, adding that three mobile phones, different cheque books, fake voter ID and PAN cards were also recovered from their possession.

Ranabir Mukherjee, a retired Deputy SP of West Bengal Police, filed a complaint where he stated that on May 30, 2018, one person who identified himself as Rudrapratap Sharma called him and introduced himself as an LIC agent from area of Parliament Street, New Delhi, a senior police officer said.

The caller duped the complainant by saying that being a loyal LIC customer who is paying premiums every year on time, Mukherjee will be paid loyalty bonus, police said. 

The caller demanded a cheque of Rs 25,400 payable at LIC Headquarter Nariman Point, Mumbai with the photocopies of Pan Card, Aadhaar Card and Voter Card to open an account for only 45 days where his loyalty bonus will be reimbursed in his account, police said.

Sharma, along with his other associates, induced the complainant and collected around Rs 22 lakh from him in 12 to 13 different dates through NEFT, the officer said. 

However, the accused never sent any papers/documents/SMS/cash to the complainant. Later, Mukherjee refused to pay any further money and filed a complaint after he got to know the he was cheated, G Ram Gopal Naik, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), said.

Investigation revealed that the accounts of the accused persons were opened with fake documents. There were more than eight accounts in different banks on fake IDs which were used for cheating, Naik said on Wednesday.

On the basis of technical surveillance, 3 accused persons have been arrested, he added. 

3 held for cheating shopkeepers, 510 TVs recovered

Three persons, including a 35-year-old law graduate, have been arrested for allegedly cheating shopkeepers in Old Lajpat Rai Market of around 700 smart LED television sets, police said on Friday. 

The accused, identified as Vikas (35), Harendra (33) and Praveen (33), were arrested on Thursday from Sonepat and 510 smart TVs worth Rs 60 lakh were recovered from a godown under their hold, they added.  

In a complaint, Shasikant Gupta, a shopkeeper alleged that 120 LED TVs were misappropriated, police said. After police got a tip that the accused were hiding in Sonepat with the cheated goods, the officials raided a godown at Gohana Road there, Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP-Crime) Rajiv Ranjan said. 

The TVs were recovered from the godown, subsequently the accused were arrested, he said.  During interrogation, Vikas, a law graduate, told the police that he incurred heavy debt betting on cricket matches, which totalled to around Rs 40 lakh. 

In dire need of money, Vikas planned to cheat shopkeepers in Old Lajpat Rai Market, the ACP said, adding he involved his friends Harendra and Praveen.  "One Anil took a shop on rent in Old Lajpat Rai Market using fake documents and bought new SIM Cards. 

Harendra used the fake name Sunil and started to work in Anil's shop. They sold and purchased LED TVs on cash. After two months, they managed to win the trust of shopkeepers in the market and collected 700 TVs. Following which they fled to Sonepat," police said. 

Member of Naveen Bhati gang arrested

A suspected member of the Naveen Bhati gang, who was allegedly planning to kill the members of a rival gang, was arrested from Dwarka, police said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Ravi alias Chiru (25), was a resident of Pochanpur, Dwarka, they said, adding that he was wanted in a recent murder case lodged at the Palam village police station and was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000.

On January 16, at around 9 pm, the police were informed about firing in the Sadh Nagar Palam area. After reaching the spot, the police had found that one injured person was shifted to the Bhagat Chandra hospital, a senior officer said. 

The victim, identified as Animesh, was declared "brought dead" by the doctors at the hospital, he added.