A call centre racket was busted and three people were arrested for duping people on the pretext of providing them jobs of a masseur in five-star hotels, the police said on Thursday.
Also, a juvenile was apprehended in connection with the case. On August 29, one Rinku Pandey had lodged a complaint at Sabzi Mandi police station stating that he was duped to a tune of ₹1.18 lakh, said Nupur Prasad, DCP (North). On August 23, a woman called Pandey and offered him a job as a masseur at a five-star hotel. She promised him a salary of ₹40,000 for four hours of service, the complainant stated.
“The victim transferred ₹1.18 lakh through Paytm in several instalments which included registration fees, training session, massage kit. It also included ₹20,000 for massage oil. He transferred the money considering Paytm to be genuine and safe,” the DCP said.
Following this, the caller asked him to meet her at Maidens Hotel in Civil Lines.
“The victim then went to the hotel on August 25 and called the woman. She asked him to wait outside the hotel as she was on her way. Later, she switched off her phone. Suspecting foul play, Pandey reported the incident to the police,” said Ms. Prasad.
Paytm transactions
During the investigation, the Paytm transaction to the account number provided by the victim was scanned. Three transactions of electricity bill payments were found. One of the address details matched with the location of mobile numbers in which money was transferred, the police said. “A house in Rohini’s Sector 20 was raided. We nabbed a few people and found a fake call centre operating in the house,” Ms. Prasad added. Later, the detained persons were questioned when they confessed their involvement in the case. The arrested persons have been identified as Shree Ram, Akash and Nisha.
“We are trying to find out if they have cheated other people. Ten mobile phones and some SIM cards were recovered from them,” the officer added.