New Delhi, Jul 27 (IANS): A gang of cheats which rented a farmhouse, hired bodyguards and pilot vehicles, and boasted their access to the corridors of power to win the trust of victims and dupe them on the pretext of getting loans sanctioned, has been busted by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch, police said on Monday.
Police said five people have been arrested, including one who facilitated their entry in a political party's office in Delhi to convince the victims about their high connections.
According to police, information was received by the Crime Branch's Inter State Cell that one person, identified as Ritesh Tiwari, claimed to be a highly-placed government servant. He also claimed that he has access to a close aide of the Union Home Minister and by virtue of this, could get any work done in the government.
After preliminary inquiry by the Crime Branch, it was found that Tiwari was not a government servant but someone involved in conning and cheating innocent and gullible persons. A case was registered and investigation was taken up.
During the course of investigation, two separate complaints were received which revealed that the accused, along with his associates, had cheated the victims of about Rs 50 lakh on the pretext of providing loans amounting to Rs 25 crore and Rs 50 crore, respectively.
Investigation revealed that Tiwari, along with associate Amit Sharma, had developed a unique modus operandi to cheat innocent persons.
According to police, initially, one of the accused would track and locate a needy person desirous of taking a loan, and invite him to meetings at various five-star hotels, high-end clubs and, in one case, a political party's office.
"The accused use to convince the victim that they were highly connected and would get their work done. Finally the victim was called at a farmhouse located at 15, Gadaipur Farms, Delhi. This farmhouse has been taken on rent by Tiwari and Sharma where a setup was created to give an impression that some very important person in high risk category stayed there. They also hired gypsies to be used as pilot vehicles," said a senior police officer.
When the victim visited the farmhouse, he would see several bodyguards. Also, the farmhouse had several high-end cars parked inside. The victim would be frisked before being allowed inside, and that too only after his phone and wallet were taken away and deposited.
Once inside, the victim was made to wait for a considerable period. Then, Tiwari and his accomplice Ajay Jain would meet him, check the documents, agree to get the loan and tell him to wait.
"In the next few days, one person of the gang would call the victim conveying that his loan has been sanctioned and to further process it, the victim would have to pay the 'stamp duty' in advance required for executing the agreement. They would then convince the victim to make the payment and on receiving the same, would stop communicating with them," the officer added.
The mastermind, Tiwari, 42, is a postgraduate and resides at a posh colony at Club Road, Civil Lines.
The other arrested include Jain, 50, who has worked with several financial institutions; Bhaskar Nath, 25, the son of a retired government officer and possessing good communication skills, and thus, kept to deal with the victims, and Ashwani Kashyap, 53, a property dealer in Rohini area.
The fifth accused was Bhim Pandit, 54, who had access to a political party's office in Delhi.