Delhi Police have arrested a 19-year-old teenager from Rajasthan for duping people on the pretext of providing high returns on crypto investments, an official said on Friday.
The arrested individual has been identified as Narendra Choudhary, a resident of Sawai Madhopur district in Rajasthan. He used to dupe people along with a juvenile who is on the run. They contacted people through WhatsApp and Telegram.
The official said that Choudhary runs a mobile phone repair and accessories shop. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sagar Singh Kalsi said that a complaint was received at the Cyber police station in which the complainant Pankaj Verma has alleged that on February 21, he had joined a telegram group called ‘Nifty Prediction Telegram Channel’.
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In the group, he discovered that investing in cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, and marketing and mutual funds would yield exceptionally high returns.
“A mobile phone number was shared in the group for those interested in investing. He contacted the provided number and began receiving messages on WhatsApp. The individual introducing himself as Bonesh Meena instructed the complainant to transfer Rs 10,000 to a given UPI ID. Trusting the person, the complainant made the payment accordingly,” said the DCP.
Meena then messaged Verma on WhatsApp, stating that an additional Rs 6,000 was required as GST for a month, and provided a new UPI ID for the payment.
“Verma transferred Rs 6,000 through Paytm as instructed. Subsequently, Bonesh called again, claiming that the profits had been booked, and demanded Rs 12,000 as a commission. On February 22, Verma transferred Rs 15,000 as software withdrawal charges to Meena via Paytm. On February 23, Verma transferred Rs 2,000 to Meena as commission and was assured of receiving returns on the same day,” said the official.
In total, the complainant made payments amounting to Rs 44,000 but did not receive any returns.
“Additionally, the complainant was provided with another number/UPI ID for payment and return information, and he transferred Rs 2,000 through Paytm for commission. On February 24, the complainant’s phone numbers were blocked by the fraudsters, and he did not receive any returns,” said the official.
It is important to note that the mentioned Telegram group is still active.
During the investigation, the police team then mounted continuous surveillance of suspect mobile numbers, which zeroed in on the location in the village of Kundera near Sawai Madhopur.
“Further, the suspect Paytm account, into which the amount was transferred, belongs to Choudhary. A raid was conducted on Wednesday and he was arrested from his village,” said the official.
On questioning, Choudhary disclosed that he was working with a juvenile and that they were operating from Kundera village and other adjoining villages.
“The accused also revealed that they were duping innocent people on the pretext of providing high returns on crypto investment,” the police officer added.
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