NEW DELHI: A teenaged girl and a youth devised a unique way to make a quick buck. They downloaded pictures of several women from Facebook - selected randomly - and, then, created profiles on an adult dating app. They followed this up by setting up a "call centre" at their residence. The girl would attend calls and, after a brief intimate conversation, ask the men to deposit Rs 500 or 1,000 into e-wallet accounts created on fake identities.
After receiving the money, they would block the numbers. DCP (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said the accused were running the racket for at least 10 months. Their little scam, however, was busted when a DU student complained to police about her picture being misued on the dating app. The complainant told police that when she called the number provided with the profile, she was warned to lay off. A case under IPC sections of cheating, molestation and forgery was registered. Sections under the IT Act were also invoked.
Investigating officers said they conducted technical surveillance of the phone number and also scrutinised the e-wallet accounts. The bank account linked to an e-wallet was found to be opened on a fake identity. After further investigation, cops zeroed in on the main accused, Chiranjeev. He was arrested from his house and five mobile phones and 11 SIM cards, all procured on fake IDs, were seized. The girl was also detained.
During interrogation, Chiranjeev told police that he met Poonam (name changed) in Rohini 10 months ago. He offered her Rs 600 a day to call different men. They would sit in Chiranjeev's house in a makeshift call-centre-like setup. After the initial conversation, the girl would ask the prospective victim to transfer money if they wanted to "go further". They would ask Rs 500 for sending nude photographs and Rs 1,000 or more for videos. As soon as they received the money, they would block the number.
Senior police officers said the duo had a free run because not only was the sum too low, but also the duped men were reluctant to reveal their identity.
Police said Chiranjeev was a Class XII dropout.
Representative Photo