4 posing as CBI officials duped jeweller of Rs 40L in Delhi, held
Darpan News Desk IANS, 10 May, 2023 02:06 PM
New Delhi, May 10 (IANS) The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested four men, including the kingpin who was inspired by Bollywood flick 'Special-26', for impersonating as CBI official and cheating a jeweller to the tune of Rs 40 lakh in the national capital, an official said on Wednesday.
The accused were identified as Sandeep Bhatnagar (54), Pawan Gupta (47), Yogesh Kumar (58) and Himanshu alias Dinesh (35), all residents of Delhi.
Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Singh Yadav said that the complainant Harpreet Singh, who is running his jewellry shop at the ground floor of his residence in Delhi's Farsh Bazaar area, reported on April 17 that six individuals including one woman entered his shop, introducing themselves as CBI officials.
"They informed the complainant that he was involved in illegal gold business and was in possession of the same. They further asked if he wanted to settle, the complainant must pay them Rs 1 crore. Being surprised and scared by the actions of these fake CBI officials, the complainant paid Rs 40 lakh in cash and 500 grams of gold to them. While leaving, the suspect also took DVRs of the CCTV cameras installed at the business," said the Special CP.
During investigation, the police tasked with the probe scanned multiple CCTV cameras installed in the area and subsequently, the accused were identified and four of them were nabbed from their residences in Delhi.
During interrogation, it was revealed that Bhatnagar is the mastermind and kingpin of the gang.
"Being deeply influenced by the movie 'Special-26', Bhatnagar directed the present episode in consensus with his accomplices, Pawan, Himanshu, Yogesh and two others," said the Special CP.
"Bhatnagar with his accomplices entered the business of the victim, impersonating and posing himself as a high ranked CBI official and his accomplices as his subordinates. While entering the business, the accused were wearing fake identity cards of CBI and were carrying walky-talky in their hands," said the official.
The Special CP said that further probe is going on to nab the remaining accused.
The police have arrested six persons in this connection, out of whom two are residents of Liluah in Howrah district, two are from Maharashtra and one from Gujarat. The police suspect that besides running the fake call centre, the arrested persons were also involved in illegal hawala transactions.
A forensic science lab team also reached the spot and inspected the suitcase and the spot where the body was found. The hands and the feet of the victim were tied with a rope, a police officer said, not ruling out the possibility of foul play in the case.
The officials said that some dreaded criminals were lodged in the same ward, adding that Sisodia has not raised any complaint in food or other things so far. Sisodia, who was arrested on February 26 in the Delhi excise policy case, was lodged in the cell on Monday after due formalities which included some medical tests.
Special public prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad argued the charges against Poonawala. It was submitted that the accused is a trained chef from Taj Hotel and is aware of preserving the flesh. Poonawala had also ordered dry ice, agarbatti etc. after killing Shraddha Walker, the police said.
Carrying placards, father Balkaur Singh and mother Charan Kaur told the media it has been almost a year of the crime occurrence and the main culprits have not been arrested.They demanded that the case should be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as crucial witnesses "are being eliminated and nothing is going in their favour."
The accused were identified as Mohd. Danish (33) and Danish alias Raja (30), both residents of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. Police have also recovered five high end luxury cars and SUVs from the possession of the accused.
