Gang duping wholesalers via ghost companies on IndiaMart busted in Delhi, 3 held

New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested three men, including a bank employee, and claimed to have busted a gang of fraudsters, who after creating ghost companies on fictitious documents used to dupe wholesalers by generating leads on IndiaMart.

Police have also recovered 51 cheque-books, 27 fake identity proofs, 28 debit/credit cards, PoS machine, QR codes from the possession of the accused identified as Noor Mohammad (33), Manish Samson (25) and Dharamvir Chaddha akaRimple Chaddha (44).

According to the police, this case was initiated based on a complaint from a wholesaler residing in the Burari area of Delhi. The complainant alleged that they received a query for laptop tables and stools in bulk quantities through IndiaMART. After supplying goods worth Rs 3,00,640, the accused individuals provided fake Paytm payment receipts.

During the investigation, an extensive technical analysis was conducted. “A detailed analysis of call detail records (CDR) for the available mobile numbers was done, but it was discovered that these numbers were issued under fictitious identities,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (north), Manoj Kumar Meena.

Furthermore, the accused only made calls to potential victims and not to anyone else. Subsequently, an in-depth IMEI search of suspect mobile numbers was conducted, which could only establish the location of one accused, Noor Mohammad, in the Nihal Vihar area.

“Local intelligence in the area provided a clue about the accused in D-Block, Nihal Vihar, Delhi. However, it was found that the accused had vacated the premises a few months ago and moved elsewhere in the locality,” said the DCP.

The police team then gathered more information and pinpointed the location of the accused in A-Block, Nihal Vihar. “Woman head constable Sonika disguised herself as a courier delivery agent to identify the suspect, and this effort led to the arrest of the accused Noor Mohammad,” said the DCP.

During the arrest, the complainant identified Noor Mohammad as the individual who received the goods at the Sadar Bazar office. “Subsequently, at the instance of Noor Mohammad, Manish and Dharamvir were also arrested,” said the DCP.

During the interrogation, Noor disclosed that he and his co-accused had formed a gang to defraud wholesalers.

“He revealed that he had previously worked as an electricity bill distributor for BSES from 2013 to 2019 but was dissatisfied with his salary. He left the job and came into contact with co-accused Manish Samson, Rimple Chaddha, Aman Kapoor, and Rajiender Arora, among others. They hatched a conspiracy to cheat wholesalers,” said the DCP.

Manish, who was working as a manager (Sales) in a private bank, assisted the gang in providing fake identity proofs to create ghost companies and open bank accounts.

“The gang used these fake documents to obtain SIM cards for contacting victims,” said the officer.

Rimple Chaddha and Noor Mohammad would search offices at prominent marketplaces to avoid suspicion. Aman Kapoor would pose as the manager of the company, utilising his good communication skills to gain the trust of complainants.

Another accused, Rajender Arora, was responsible for disposing of the fraudulently obtained goods.

“Further investigation into the account details of three companies has revealed transactions totaling Rs 1,63,17,725. The account details of other companies are under analysis,” said the officer, adding that efforts are being made to locate the absconding accused individuals involved in this racket.

–IANS

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