Delhi Police have arrested four cyber fraudsters for allegedly cheating a cancer patient of Rs 1.30 lakh by posing as officials from the Insurance Ombudsman and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), officials said on Tuesday.
The accused targeted policyholders awaiting insurance refunds or premium settlements, deceiving them into paying money under the guise of “processing charges”.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said the victim, KP Tomar, had purchased four health insurance policies in 2024 but was unable to continue premium payments due to mounting medical expenses related to cancer treatment. While refunds for three policies were processed, one policy remained pending.
On July 5, Tomar received calls from individuals impersonating Insurance Ombudsman officials, who convinced him to deposit Rs 83,000 and Rs 47,000 into two separate bank accounts, claiming the amount was required for refund file preparation.
The fraudsters later demanded an additional Rs 12 lakh, falsely describing it as an RBI bond, which raised suspicion and led the victim to report the matter to police. A case was subsequently registered at a southwest Delhi police station.
During the investigation, police analysed technical evidence and traced the money trail through multiple bank accounts. The funds eventually reached an account belonging to Devender Kumar, who was arrested first.
Devender allegedly admitted to using bank accounts belonging to his wife Simran and sister-in-law Manpreet Kaur to receive the defrauded money. He would then transfer the funds to his associate Arun Kumar, after retaining a commission.
Subsequent raids in Seelampur led to Arun Kumar’s arrest. He reportedly confessed to impersonating an IRDAI official and making fraudulent calls using customer data misused by Devender, who was employed with an insurance-related firm.
Police recovered four mobile phones and one debit card used in the commission of the crime.
The arrested accused are Devender Kumar, Arun Kumar, Simran, and Manpreet Kaur. Further investigation is ongoing.
