NEW DELHI: Delhi Police cracked a virtual private network (VPN) trail to arrest two of its sub-inspectors for allegedly embezzling funds from case property in the northeast district, officials said on Tuesday.
Sources said both the accused had travelled to several locations, including Goa, after escaping from the national capital, and later settled in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, from where they were nabbed.
According to the police, based on irregularities noticed during the disposal of cases registered at the northeast Delhi Cyber Police Station, three FIRs were registered against the investigating officer posted at the station, who had been missing since 19 March, and an investigation was taken up.
During the investigation, a team was formed, led by Inspector Rahul, SHO of the Cyber Police Station, comprising sub-inspector Nandan Singh, head constables Amit and Rohan, and constable Deepak. The team had been continuously collecting clues through various means.
Initially, the team found cyber fraud involving ₹75 lakh, which was allegedly illicitly transferred through four separate fraudulent transactions by presenting judicial orders obtained through dishonest means, issued on behalf of purported complainants, a senior police officer said.
On the basis of technical surveillance and information gathered through various sources, the team traced the accused to Indore. They conducted raids on 18 July in coordination with the local police at Emerald City, opposite Aurobindo Hospital, Indore, and arrested absconding police officer Ankur Malik (32), a resident of Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh, along with his woman associate, the officer said.
A total of ₹12 lakh, 820 grams of gold coin/bar, 200 grams of gold jewellery, 11 smartphones, one laptop, three ATM cards, and other documents were recovered from the premises.
During interrogation, they revealed information about their other associates. On their instance, raids were conducted and Mohammad Ilyaas (40), Arif (35), and Shadab (23), all residents of northeast Delhi, were also arrested, the officer added.
According to sources, the accused were using a VPN, which the police cracked in order to trace and apprehend them. Both the sub-inspectors allegedly planned to settle in Indore and had taken a flat on rent. They used the accounts of the other three arrested individuals to transfer the embezzled amount.