The South District Cyber Police have arrested Suraj Sharma, a 22-year-old resident of Shastri Park, Usmanpur, for allegedly defrauding a money transfer agent in Chhatarpur of Rs 70,000 in a well-planned online scam.
According to police, Sharma contacted the money transfer agent and claimed that his “younger brother” would visit the shop to collect an online money transfer. To make the scam appear legitimate, Sharma hired a Rapido bike rider to pose as his brother. Unbeknownst to the rider, he was being used in a fraudulent scheme. Sharma sent a QR code to the rider via WhatsApp, which had been previously obtained from a mobile shop under the pretense of purchasing an iPhone. The shop owner, believing the story, transferred Rs 70,000 in two instalments: Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000.
Once the money was transferred, Sharma arranged for a Porter delivery service to collect the iPhone from the mobile shop. The iPhone was then sent to a location in Bindapur, where Sharma exchanged it for Rs 61,000 in cash. When the shop owner tried to collect the money from the Rapido rider, the rider revealed he had only been hired for delivery and had no connection to the accused.
Realizing he had been scammed, the shop owner immediately reported the incident to the police. An FIR was registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigators analyzed financial transactions and digital evidence, which led them to a mobile shop in Burari.
Acting on this information, the police raided the location and arrested Suraj Sharma. During interrogation, Sharma admitted to the scam, confessing that he had used the stolen money to fund his online gaming habit. Police recovered two mobile phones from him, one of which was used in the crime, and the other was an iPhone purchased with the stolen funds.
Sharma, who has been involved in other similar scams, also has a case registered against him under Section 406 IPC at KN Katju Marg police station. Authorities confirmed that both the Rapido rider and the Porter delivery agent were innocent and had unknowingly been part of the scam.
