NEW DELHI: A 20-year-old man was arrested from Rajasthan for allegedly impersonating an Indian Air Force officer to cheat people through fake invoices and letters, police said on Saturday.
The accused has been identified as Tasleem Khan, a resident of Alwar district in Rajasthan, they said.
A woman, resident of Chhatarpur, reported that she received fake invoices/letters on Air Force letterhead from a person who was impersonating as an Air Force official on the pretext of token fees, security checks, and gate pass formalities. She was cheated of more than Rs 2.5 lakh, a senior police officer said.
Police registered a case under section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Cyber South police station and investigation was taken up.
During the investigation, the police team enquired the complainant at length to get all the relevant information. The team started tracing the money which got transferred from the complainant’s bank account.
Meanwhile, police also developed intelligence through technical surveillance and manual sources. They analysed technical inputs and conducted sustained digital surveillance. Police received a tip-off regarding the accused person.
Through surveillance and technical analysis, the location of the accused person was zeroed down at Alwar in Rajasthan. A team went to Rajasthan and conducted a raid, following which the accused was nabbed from Mukandwas village in Alwar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Ankit Chauhan said.
From his possession, two mobile phones used in the commission of offence were recovered.
During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he posed as Air Force personnel on an online platform and induced victims to transfer money through fabricated invoices/letters on Air Force letterhead.
Analysis of WhatsApp chats in the recovered devices revealed that he has cheated multiple victims across India and so far seven victims have been verified, the DCP said, adding that further interrogation is being conducted to identify co-accused persons and trace other victims.