NEW DELHI: Two men were arrested from Odisha for allegedly duping a rice trader of Rs 20 lakh in northwest Delhi by posing as representatives of a company using forged documents, police said on Saturday.
The accused have been identified as Basudev Swain (35), a resident of Lucknow, and Deepak Kumar (40), a resident of Varanasi, both from Uttar Pradesh, police said.
“The complainant, engaged in the rice and food supply business for the past 15 years, alleged that three persons — Deepak Kumar Singh, Basudev Swain, and Amit Kumar Singh — deceitfully posed as officials of a firm and claimed that their company intended to purchase rice for testing purposes and future large-scale procurement,” a police officer said.
Based on this assurance, the complainant supplied rice worth around `20 lakh against proper bills. Subsequently, the accused stopped responding and avoided making the payment. Upon verification, it was revealed that none of the accused was associated with the firm and that the documents and seals used were forged, the officer said.
During the probe, police traced the accused to Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and arrested them through secret information and technical surveillance. “After extensive technical surveillance and local intelligence inputs, the team conducted raids in Bhubaneswar and arrested both accused,”a police official said.
“They confessed to their involvement in the offence and disclosed that they had indulged in such criminal activities to earn easy money,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh.