The police on Wednesday said four men have been arrested and search is on for two persons who allegedly duped a jeweller of ₹40 lakh and 500 g of gold by posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials.
Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said the four accused have been identified as Sandeep Bhatnagar, 54, Pawan Gupta, 47, Yogesh Kumar, 58, and Himanshu, 35.
They were arrested last week following raids by the Crime Branch, he said. Mr. Yadav added that Bhatnagar was the mastermind and his plan was “deeply influenced” by the Hindi movie ‘Special 26’.
A senior officer said the six accused, including a woman, on April 17 came to the complainant Harpreet Singh’s shop in Shahdara. Posing as high-ranking CBI officials, sporting walkie-talkies and fake ID cards, they claimed that the agency had information of his alleged involvement in illegal gold dealings.
“They asked him to settle the matter by paying them ₹1 crore. Scared of these fake CBI officials, the complainant finally paid them ₹40 lakh in cash and 500 gram of gold,” the officer added.
After realising that he was cheated, Mr. Singh filed a complaint at the Farsh Bazar police station and a case was registered under IPC Sections 419, 420, and 34, the Special CP said.
During investigation, the Crime Branch team learnt that the accused took away the digital video recorder (DVR) which stored the CCTV footage of the shop and had to rely on video from other cameras in the area. “Through informers, the team found the whereabouts of the accused and conducted a raid at their respective residences,” Mr. Yadav said.
Two DVRs. five mobile phones, ₹11 lakh in cash and 104 grams of yellow-metal pieces believed to be gold have been recovered from the four accused.
