New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS): A fraudster, involved in multiple cases of duping innocent property buyers, was arrested by the police after he evaded arrest for over 5 years, an official said on Monday.

The accused, identified as Vishal Kaushik, is a Graduate (B. Com), from Delhi University and has also done Bachelor of Law (LLB). Deputy Commissioner of Police (east), Priyanka Kashyap, said the accused was wanted in multiple cases and subsequently a team was constituted which had launched a manhunt to trace the accused.

"It was difficult to trace the accused Vishal Kaushik, as he used numerous mobile numbers and bank accounts over the period of 6 years. He had left his parental house and was not in contact with any of his relatives or friends," the DCP said.

However, the police team came to know that the accused was residing in society in IndiraPuram, Ghaziabad with a changed name after which he was arrested and handed over to the local police.

Sharing some cases, the DCP said Vishal Kaushik duped one senior citizen in 2019 by luring him to purchase a flat in Patparganj for Rs 20 lakh which was later found already mortgaged. The complainant when asked to refund his hard-earned money, the accused tried to settle it down for Rs 29 lakh for which he gave cheques that got dishonoured. Accordingly, a case of cheating was registered.

In another case, the accused duped a complainant of Rs 10 lakh in 2018 on the pretext of selling him own Audi car which was already hypothecated with one finance company.

Just a year back, a resident of Jagatpuri area was duped of Rs 40.9 lakh on the pretext of selling a flat in Govindpura. However, later on it was revealed that the flat accused Vishal Kaushik sold to the complainant was not owned by him.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed he had constructed eight flats on a plot situated in Janta Garden, Patparganj in which he suffered a huge loss. To cover his incurred losses and to meet his expenses to maintain a luxurious lifestyle, he started cheating people with the above-mentioned modus operandi. Further investigation is on, the official added.