Gang that cheated people by promising to arrange large loans busted

The Delhi Police on Monday said they had busted a gang of cheats who posed as high-profile persons, with links to senior politicians, and cheated businessmen and

The Delhi Police on Monday said they had busted a gang of cheats who posed as high-profile persons, with links to senior politicians, and cheated businessmen and professionals in the guise of helping them get large loans.

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Five men, including the gang’s kingpin and an alleged employee of the All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) headquarters in central Delhi, have been arrested for cheating a businessman and a doctor of ₹50 lakh after offering to help them secure loans amounting to ₹50 crore and ₹25 crore respectively, senior police officers associated with the operation said.

The racket’s mastermind Ritesh Tiwari impersonated a highly placed government servant and claimed to have access to the personal secretary to the Union home minister, the deputy commissioner of police (crime) Rajesh Deo said.

“Tiwari deceived his potential targets by showing off his lavish lifestyle. He would call them to a farmhouse in south Delhi, which he had rented, and pretend that some high-risk category VVIPs stayed there. Apart from parking high-end cars, the men had employed bodyguards. He would travel in a convoy with two Gypsies as pilot and escort vehicles for his Fortuner SUV ,” said DCP Deo.

The other arrested members of the gang were identified as Ajay Jain,50, Bhim Pandit,54, whom the police claimed worked at the AICC headquarters, Bhaskar Nath,25, and Aman Kashyap,53, whose father had also worked in the AICC office for sometime a few years ago. Pandit allegedly helped the other members of the gang access the AICC headquarters. The Fortuner, two Gypsies, and mobile phones used in the crime were seized by the crime branch team, the police said.

When contacted regarding the arrest of Bhim Pandit, Manish Chatrath, secretary, AICC, said, “The person concerned is not employed at the AICC office. However, I will verify this once again on Tuesday.”

DCP Deo said that two separate cheating and forgery cases were registered on the complaints of two persons who were cheated of ₹50 lakh by the gang members. During the probe, the DCP said, the suspects were identified and their modus operandi unearthed. The key players – Ritesh Tiwari and Ajay Jain – would look for potential victims who needed large loans and meet them at luxury hotels, clubs and even the offices of political parties, said Deo.

“The suspects would convince the victims that they were highly connected and would get their work done easily. The victims were called to the farmhouse where they were searched and frisked before being allowed inside. Their phones and wallets were also taken. Further, the requisite documents were collected from the victims and they were asked to wait for a confirmation call,” said an investigator, who did not want to be named.

A few days later, the officer said, the loan-seeker would get a call to convey that his loan had been sanctioned. The gang members would trick the loan-seekers into paying ‘stamp duty’. “After the payment, the cheats would start avoiding the victims,” the officer added.