A man wanted for allegedly duping over 2,000 people to the tune of over Rs 3 crore on the pretext of providing affordable houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna was recently arrested from his residence in Faridabad.

"Rajinder Kumar Tripathi (57) also cheated four different companies -- Goldmine Adverstisement Company Ltd, Vermillion Communications (P) Ltd, M/S Graphic Aids (P) Ltd and M/s Wizcraft Advertising -- to the tune of Rs 1 crore for inviting tenders for organizing an event, Rashtiya Awas Divas, for the promotion of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna," said Additional Commissioner of Police A.K. Singla.

"During investigation, Tripathi was also found hosting a website 'https://www.nhdoindia.org' by the name of National Housing Development Organization (NHDO) and was using Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Housing and Poverty Alleviation to promote his organization. He wanted the people to believe that NHDO was a government organization under Ministry of Housing, government of India," Singla said.

"He also promoted NHDO on YouTube channel to lure victims. He also maintained two bank accounts in PNB at Nehru Place that were frozen. The NHDO head office was set up at Nehru Place from where he was managing his activities ," the officer said.

Goldmine Advertisement and other advertisement companies had filed a complaint of cheating against Tripathi on February 2017 at Crime Branch Police Station.

He was declared proclaimed offender in an another case of cheating since he was absconding since last year.

He had initially started an NGO in the name of LIC Policy Holders Welfare Organization. He projected a micro-credit scheme for the NGOs. Under this scheme he had duped the NGOs, the officer added.

--IANS

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