New Delhi, May 15 (IANS): The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a labourer turned cheat from Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur for duping needy persons in lieu of Remdesivir injections.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) South East Delhi R.P. Meena said that the staff of Kalkaji police station arrested Sudhir Kumar Yadav for cheating a woman on the pretext of providing a Remdesivir injection required for the treatment of a Covid patient.

He said that on May 13, the complainant Pooja Gupta went to Kalkaji Police station to register her complaint wherein she alleged that on April 29 her sister-in-law was declared Covid positive and her condition was critical.

In her complaint she said that her sister-in-law was admitted in a hospital and there was an urgent need for a Remdesivir injection for her treatment.

"Through WhatsApp group, I found the number of one person who assured to provide 6 Remdesivir injections for Rs 9,000 each and demanded Rs 20,000 in advance for the same and the remaining Rs 34,000 were to be paid after delivery," Gupta said in her complaint.

Meena said that the complainant transferred Rs 20,000 on May 1 through account transfer to the account number provided by the accused.

He said that Yadav gave the number of his co-accused and told the complainant that he will deliver the injections to her.

"The delivery boy on contacting said his name was Sunny and kept engaging the complainant for two days by stating that he has been stuck in Etawah and will come soon to deliver the injection. After that both switched off their phones and thus cheated the complainant," the DCP said.

Accordingly, a case was registered at PS Kalkaji and an investigation was begin.

Meena said that a team started analyzing the details of the phone numbers of the accused persons.

"The ownership of the phone number of Yadav was found in Lucknow. However, the address proof of the phone number of the delivery boy was found in Haridwar. But through one alternate number given in the ID, police traced the location of the delivery boy in Sitapur," he said.

The DCP said that the team raided the Sitapur location and Yadav was apprehended.

He said that during interrogation, Yadav disclosed that he used to work as a labourer on daily wages with his co-accused in Lucknow before the lockdown but lost his job and his co-accused inveigled him to indulge in fraud during the Covid pandemic.

He obtained one SIM on another person's ID and started talking with the customers who were in urgent need of Remdesivir injection under his pseudonym Sunny at the instance of his co-accused to cheat them of their money. Efforts are being made to nab the co-accused, Meena added.