Delhi Crime Branch arrested kingpin of Nalanda based covidcheats gang

New Delhi, May 22

The Delhi Crime Branch arrested kingpin of Nalanda based covidcheats gang who cheated citizens for providing oxygen cylinders and covid medicines. The accused cheated over 300 people, all over India since March.

The police have found their involvement in three cheating cases registered in Kalkaji, Jamianagar and Okhla of Delhi so far in which mobile no. 9004835696 was used.
The accused was identified as Deepak Prasad (42) Sunderpur village of Nalanda (Bihar) from Bihar Sharif.

Add CP (Crime Branch) Shibesh Singh stated that the gang was operating from Sundarpur, Katri Sarai of Nalanda in Bihar. They are involved in this cheating racket spread across many states in India.

The police stated that the complainant reported that he was in extreme need of an oxygen cylinder for his neighbour suffering from covid-19. He found one mobile number 8274039954 on social media claiming to provide oxygen cylinders. When the complainant contacted on the given mobile number through whatsapp message, the receiver asked him to pay Rs. 7500/- for oxygen cylinder. 

The complainant made payment of Rs. 7500/- to the culprit through Google Pay which was linked with mobile no. 9004835696.
The officials added that he assured the complainant that the cylinder would reach at his address. However, no oxygen cylinder ever reached and afterwards, when the complainant tried to contact the accused and made several calls on the given mobile phone but no avail as the accused had blocked the phone number of complainant.

Many more cases of cheating are also registered in different police stations of Delhi and all over India.

The crime branch stated that during investigation regarding mobile no. 9004835696, it is found that during the last two-three months, the cheats have used more than 100 sim cards and multiple mobile phone instruments to send messages to innocent public for cheating.

During search of the accused's house at Bihar, the police found 18 SIMs Cards and 13 Mobile phones.

During the interrogation, he disclosed that he long with his associates is doing cheating on one pretext of providing business opportunities, Naaptol.Com and India Bulls Loan fraud etc. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they saw an opportunity in the rising demand for oxygen cylinders and to make full use of the situation of the scarcity of oxygen cylinders in Delhi, they planned to cheat the persons who were in need of oxygen cylinders, and Covid drugs. They flashed their mobile numbers on different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsAppsetc. promising oxygen cylinders etc to needy persons.
His mobile number became viral and he started getting messages and calls from the needy persons looking for oxygen cylinders. One of his associate namely Sarvesh, brother-in-law in Bihar, provided the bank accounts to receive the cheated amount.

Mentioning about his family's it is interesting to know that his brother is working in Bihar Police and sister-in-law has been working with railway police while one brother is a teacher in Bihar while father government teacher.

Initially he worked in clothing factory in Gujarat. Thereafter, he started selling vegetables and also worked in cardboard factory in Delhi during the period of 2000 to 2007. In 2008 he left Delhi and started running an adornment shop in his village. In 2018, he alongwith his associated started cheating innocent people.

During the investigation, it is found that culprits are using more than seven bank accounts for cheating and they have duped more than Rs. 50 lakhs from over 300 people across the states in India in last two to three months.