In a chilling revelation, Noida police arrested four men linked to a deadly currency exchange scam that resulted in the murder of a 40-year-old businessman, Ompal Bhati, earlier this week.
The arrested include:
Ajay Kumar Sharma (48) – alleged mastermind from Indirapuram, Ghaziabad
Mukul Sharma (25) – Ajay’s son
Akash Upadhyay (24) – resident of Mahoba
Aryan Yadav (25) – from Delhi
Police reported that Mukul and Akash were injured in a gunfight during an attempted escape near Sector 54. Authorities recovered firearms, a stolen bike, and Rs10.3 lakh in Indian and foreign currency from the suspects.
The gang’s modus operandi was to lure currency exchange dealers into fake foreign exchange deals staged in rented flats. The accused would pose as clients seeking to exchange large sums in foreign currency, using small withdrawals like Rs3 lakh in Akash’s case to gain trust.
The gang briefly rented flats with token deposits and invited victims under the pretext of converting currency. Once the dealer arrived, they were robbed at gunpoint.
Victim Ompal Bhati, a currency dealer from Sector 18, was invited to a rented flat in Sector 12 to exchange Rs10 lakh for Canadian dollars. When he resisted the robbery attempt, he was fatally shot. After the incident, the gang contacted Ajay, who told them to hide at Aryan’s home in Delhi.
Police later revealed the gang had defrauded another dealer of 8,000 dirhams just prior to the killing.
