E-Paper
Ludhiana: 65 restaurant owners duped, imposter held
According to police, the accused, a former employee of Zomato, has duped the restaurants of ₹4.39 lakh from November 2022 to September this year on the pretext of installing their hoardings in the city at prime locations and helping them in availing FSSAI
The imposter, who had duped at least 65 restaurant owners, posing as a manager of food delivery apps, has been arrested, police said on Friday.
According to police, the accused, a former employee of Zomato, has duped the restaurants of ₹4.39 lakh from November 2022 to September this year on the pretext of installing their hoardings in the city at prime locations and helping them in availing FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) licence.
The arrested accused has been identified as Sidharth Agarwal, 32, of Bank Colony in Haibowal Kalan. The police have also recovered a fake ID card of Zomato company, company’s t-shirt, one mobile and the scooter used in the crime.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, Headquarters) Sameer Verma said that the cyber cell has received a complaint from a restaurant manager that an imposter had duped him of ₹20,000 on the pretext of setting a delivery counter, installing their hoardings in the city and helping him in availing a FSSAI certificate. The PAU police lodged an FIR against the accused and initiated an investigation.
After investigating the matter, the police traced the accused and arrested him. During the interrogation, the accused confessed to duping at least 65 restaurant owners and managers. However, the bank statements of the accused revealed that he had received ₹10.82 lakh between November 2022 and September 2023. Police are investigating from where he received the money in his account.
Inspector Jatinder Singh, incharge cyber cell said that Sidharth had worked for Zomato during the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak in 2020. He had started charging the restaurants in the name of getting their registration done with Zomato for food delivery during lockdown. However, the company never charged for registration. A case was also registered against him. He was arrested, but later was given bail.
The inspector added that the accused created a UPI ID similar to the name of the company that runs the food delivery app. Moreover, he used to wear the t-shirt of the company and would also produce a forged ID card to win the faith of restaurant owners.
