Two booked for cheating woman of ₹26L on pretext of teaching job in DU

the prime suspect approached Rao on October 15, 2023, after recruitment results were published on October 12 of that year and sought ₹35 lakh for reconducting the interview

Two people were arrested for allegedly cheating a pair of siblings, a man and a woman, of ₹26 lakh on the pretext of getting the sister recruited as an assistant professor by Delhi University (DU) after she was rejected previously, police said on Thursday.

An FIR was filed and two suspects are being traced. (Representative photo)

The suspects were identified as Sandeep Kumar, 36, of Hasangarh in Rohtak and Omkar Yadav, 32, of Kherki Baghanki in Nuh. They were produced in court and taken on a four-day police remand.

Inspector Balraj Singh, station house officer of Udyog Vihar police station, said they were arrested on Wednesday night and were taken on four-day police remand for interrogation after production before a city court on Thursday.

Police said the suspects sent emails purportedly pretending to be official DU addresses, referred to as “phishing” in cyberfraud terms, and assured the siblings, identified as Ankur Rao, 34, and Pooja Yadav, 28, of getting Yadav appointed after she failed in the recruitment process in 2023.

Police said they ascertained from the probe that Kumar approached Rao on October 15, 2023, after recruitment results were published on October 12 of that year, took him to another associated identified as Omkar in Delhi, who sought ₹35 lakh for reconducting the interview.

“Rao agreed and his sister received an email on November 6 and November 29 of 2023 from a domain similar to that of the university communicating that her interview would be re-conducted on January 10, 2024,” a senior officer said.

In another email, it was communicated that the interview would be rescheduled and the date will be published in a newspaper advertisement. On January 29, 2024, Yadav received an email saying she was appointed an assistant professor and will need to appear in person on April 4, 2024, for verification.

In the interim, the suspects took ₹26 lakh and absconded, following which the siblings filed a complaint on October 19, 2024.

“An inquiry was initiated in which his allegations were found true and an FIR against the suspects was registered under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code at Udyog Vihar police station on Wednesday,” inspector Balraj Singh, station house officer of Udyog Vihar police station, said.

“Records from DU showed they had not sent any communication to Yadav. Rao’s account statements were obtained. Both established the fraud. We are quizzing them,” he said.