NEW DELHI: A 33-year-old Pune-based animation artist was arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly cheating several businessmen on IndiaMart by posing himself as a seller of low-priced Pooja items. The accused, identified as Piyush Sharma, had done diploma in Animations and was having good knowledge of Adobe Photoshop which helped him to create fake visiting cards, bills, and documents.
Dy. Commissioner of Police (North District) Sagar Singh Kalsi said a 50-year-old man who owns an ancestral shop in Sadar Bazar lodged a complaint stating that he had placed a demand on India Mart regarding demand of 1200 Kg of Items of Pooja and Havan.
After this, the complainant received a call from an unknown person who stated that he deals in wholesale trading (buying and selling) of Kaudis, Shankhs, Garlands, and Rudraksha (Items of Pooja and Havan) and can provide these items at rates lower than that of market.
“The accused person even sent a Tax Invoice of Vijay Creation, Katraj Kondhwa Road, Pune, Maharashtra, one Registration Certificate, and one Visiting Card to gain the trust of the complainant,” the DCP said. The accused thereafter took Rs.1,73,100 as an advance payment and later switched off his mobile phone and never delivered the items.
Accordingly, the police registered a case under relevant sections of law and began probing the matter. During the investigation total of three complaints of the same modus operandi were also found to be linked which clarified the fact that the accused was a habitual fraudster.
“The technical analysis of call details and money transactions was made and it was found that the accused was operating from Pune, Maharashtra. A raid was conducted but it was found that the accused had left the said premises about 7 years ago,” Kalsi said, adding he was continuously changing his location.
However, with technical surveillance, the accused was traced and nabbed from an apartment in Pune. Further investigation of the case is in progress and efforts are being made to trace out the involvement of the accused person in other complaints, the official added.