Man held for cheating people of ₹8 lakh on pretext of providing them ration

Police said the accused issued membership to the people and charged ₹1,500 from them, and also provided them a "ration card".

A 45-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly cheating people of ₹8 lakh on the pretext of providing them ration for 15 months, police said on Monday.

The NGO operated the scheme at different places through regular branches, they said. (HT Photo/Representative Image)

The accused has been identified as Rajesh Kumar Bhartiya, a resident of Nangloi, they said.

The complainant named Harish Kumar, along with 534 others, alleged that an NGO -- Target Welfare Association -- which was being run by Bhartiya and others introduced a scheme wherein they charged a membership fee of ₹1,500 per person for distributing of ration -- flour, rice, sugar and oil -- for a period of 15 months, police said.

The NGO operated the scheme at different places through regular branches, they said.

The complainant alleged that the NGO neither supplied the ration nor answered phone calls when people tried to contact them. They disappeared with all the money collected via membership fee, police said.

"During investigation, it was revealed that Bhartiya was the main person who ran this scheme. Police arrested him from Nangloi area on Friday," Deputy Commissioner of Police (EOW) Mohammad Ali said.

Police said the accused issued membership to the people and charged ₹1,500 from them, and also provided them a "ration card".

According to the scheme, on each card, one could obtain any one item -- either flour, rice, sugar or refined oil -- for a period of 15 months. Initially, some of the members were provided ration, but later the accused fled with ₹8,02,500 collected via membership fees, Ali said.