25-year-old arrested for duping his father of ₹26 lakh

Police said that after the fraud, Sharma tried to mislead his father and the investigators. He sat beside his father as he filed the cyber fraud complaint, blaming “unknown hackers”

New Delhi: A 25-year-old man was arrested on Saturday for duping his father of ₹26.32 lakh by creating a new UPI ID from the father’s phone number and making multiple online purchases over four months, police said.

The accused is a former corporate employee

According to police, the accused Shivam Sharma is a former corporate employee and is the victim’s son from his second marriage. Sharma purportedly felt alienated after the man, 68, handed over his Azadpur Mandi parking business to his son from the first marriage.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) Aditya Gautam said the elderly man had reported the fraud on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. “The victim had health issues and had handed over financial management to his son. Sharma used that access to commit the crime,” Gautam said.

Investigators said that on March 23, when the father was away attending the last rites of his first wife, Sharma removed the SIM card linked to his father’s bank account and created a UPI ID to initiate transactions and began making online purchases of gold coins from e-commerce sites.

“He had even routed ₹6 lakh through cybercafe operators who charged commission to facilitate withdrawals, making it harder to trace the source,” an investigator said. After the fraud, he destroyed the SIM card and his phone to erase evidence.

Upon investigation, 100 grams of gold was recovered from an almirah in the house and ₹3 lakh has been seized in a private bank account linked to Sharma.

Police said that after the fraud, Sharma tried to mislead his father and the investigators. He sat beside his father as he filed the cyber fraud complaint, blaming “unknown hackers“.

Police said Sharma was arrested from his residence and initially refused to cooperate. “He was evasive and denied all involvement. But sustained questioning and digital analysis eventually led him to confess,” an officer from the investigating team said,” an officer said. Investigators are now examining whether more funds were diverted through digital wallets or other accounts.