The Malabar Hill Police have arrested a 22-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh last week for allegedly duping a man of ₹1.95 lakh on the pretext of delivering an international courier to Bangkok. Upon tracing the accused to UP, it was revealed that he had duped at least nine more people in Mumbai using the same modus operandi. He has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act.
On March 12, the complainant had enquired about international courier companies to send a package to Bangkok, and soon received a call from a man who identified himself as Vikram Singh from Arctic International Courier and Cargo Company. Singh told the complainant that the company would charge ₹150 per kilogram of package and accordingly a courier worth ₹1.95 lakh was picked up from the complainant's house on April 17.
When the complainant asked for a receipt, he sent a receipt of an Andheri courier office and kept avoiding giving a latest status update. Singh kept saying he is in Meghalaya or was not reachable, to which the complainant asked for a refund, which is when he decided to approach the Andheri courier company, only to realise it was a bogus address. He realised he was duped and approached Malabar Hill Police.
During probe, police sought the Call Data Records of Singh and his location was traced to Mohammadabad in Uttar Pradesh, following which a team was sent to nab him. Singh's real identity was revealed to be Aakash Vishwakarma, 22, and he was arrested on April 23. He was brought to the city last week and remanded in police custody. Probe revealed that Vishwakarma had duped many people using the same modus operandi.
Police have seized parcels worth ₹1.95 lakh, two mobile phones and SIM cards. Vishwakarma has cheated at least 30 to 40 people in Maharashtra. Police are investigating the matter and have appealed the citizens to come forward if they were cheated using the same modus operandi.
