New Delhi, Mar 4 (IANS): The Delhi Police have arrested the kingpin of a gang of cheats who used to dupe people during the lockdown by asking them to pay advance money to buy liquor online by giving a fake advertisement on social networking sites.

The accused, Mohd. Nasir, was arrested from Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

The matter came to light when a complainant told the police that on May 22, 2020, he saw an advertisement on Facebook promising home delivery of liquor even during the pandemic.

The complainant contacted the given mobile number and was asked to transfer Rs 4,000 for two bottles. When the delivery was not made, the complainant again contacted the said mobile number and requested a refund. The accused asked him to scan a QR Code for receiving money. Instead of getting his money back Rs.20,000 were deducted from his account.

On September 25, 2020 two accused -- Huzaifah (25) and Hafiz Tufail (35) were arrested from Sangam Vihar from Lado Sarai respectively, by the district Cyber Cell.

The arrested accused disclosed that the money in their account was deposited online by one Mohd. Nasir from Gopalgarh, Bharatpur and he is the relative of accused Hafiz Tufail. The duo disclosed Nasir was the mastermind behind these crimes.

A non-bailable warrant against Nasir were obtained and he was arrested on March 3, 2021.

"He used to work at a Cyber Cafe in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, where he learnt to upload fake advertisements on social media to sell different articles at a cheap rate during the lockdown and receive payment through UPI.

No previous involvement in crime has been found against him," said RP Meena, DCP South East Delhi.