Fake robbery case leads Delhi Police to bust fraud racket

The racket was busted while the police were probing a robbery case registered at the KN Katju Marg police station, wherein the complainant Sunil Jaiswal, one of the arrested men, had alleged that two unidentified men forcibly entered his home, overpowered him and robbed him.

Probing a case of armed robbery not only helped the police discover that it was staged, but also led to the busting of an organised banking fraud racket, of which the complainant was a key member, the police said on Tuesday.

Police barricades placed outside the entrance to a Covid-19 containment zone in Mayur Vihar, New Delhi. (Sushil Kumar/HT File Photo)

The complainant and his accomplice were arrested for running the racket, the kingpin of which died of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) around a month ago. The syndicate was involved in cheating banks and insurance companies by obtaining various loans using forged IDs and documents and faking robberies of cars or two-wheelers to claim insurance money, senior police officers associated with the case said.

The racket was busted while the police were probing a robbery case registered at the KN Katju Marg police station, wherein the complainant Sunil Jaiswal, one of the arrested men, had alleged that two unidentified men forcibly entered his home, overpowered him and robbed him of his Hyundai Verna car, Rs50,000 in cash and two mobile phones at gunpoint on July 7, the deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Pramod Kumar Mishra said, adding that the other arrested man was identified as Raj Kumar Gupta.

Investigators found Jaiswal’s robbery story dubious when they discovered that he gave body massages in salons and spa centres to earn a livelihood and it was not possible for him to buy a luxury sedan worth Rs17 lakh from his low income, DCP Mishra said.

“We verified Jaiswal’s antecedents and found that his original name was Sumit Jaiswal and he had purchased the car using a loan based on forged IDs and residential proof documents. Also, the house where the robbery allegedly took place was rented by one Manoj Shastri, who died of Covid-19 around a month ago,” an investigator, who did not wish to be named, said.

The police interrogated Jaiswal after confirming that he was part of a cheating racket. Shastri was the kingpin of the racket but after his death due to Covid-19, Jaiswal and his accomplice Raj Kumar Gupta took charge. Gupta had prepared the forged IDs and documents that Jaiswal used to purchase the Verna car, obtain a car loan, and a personal loan of Rs42 lakh, the officer said.

“As per their plan, on July 7, Gupta sent two men to the house to take the car. When the duo left, Jaiswal made the fake robbery call and got a first information report (FIR) registered. Jaiswal and Gupta planned to use the FIR to claim the ‘stolen’ car’s insurance money. Also, they had planned to change the residential address to avoid repaying the car and personal loans,” the officer said, adding that the duo’s interrogation had led them to at least four similar crimes committed using the same modus operandi.

“Apart from the Verna car that is yet to be recovered, we have information about three more cars and a two-wheeler that the racketeers had taken on loan but never repaid the amount, as all were purchased using forged documents,” he said.

DCP Mishra said that the duo was arrested in the fake robbery case and another case of cheating and forgery. “Two printing machines, several blank plastic cards used to prepare fake Aadhaar, Voter ID, PAN cards and driving licences were seized, apart from duplicate Press IDs and other incriminating documents,” Mishra said.