Cyber Fraud Alert! A Call For Escort Services, Then A Loot By 'Journalist And Cop'

New Delhi: Two men who used to extort money from people by impersonating as a journalist and policeman have been arrested, police said on Friday. The accused have confessed that they have extorted money from more than 100 persons in other states as well. They have been identified as Mohit Kumar Tank and Devkinandan, residents of Jaipur. Both of them were produced in a city court after which police have taken them on three days remand, police said. Their driver identified as Sunil was arrested on June 5 and a car which was being used in the crime was also recovered from his possession.

According to the police, a person had lodged a complaint on June 4 that someone contacted him through a website to avail escort services. They contacted him and asked him to come to the Cyber Park at Sector 39 in Gurugram. When he reached there, he was taken in a car where the accused introduced themselves as police officers and threatened to send him to jail for committing cybercrime.

According to complainant, they then drove the victim to Sector 39 where another person posing as a senior police officer demanded Rs 1 lakh from him, threatening to send him behind bars if failed to pay the sum. The victim transferred Rs 50,000 to an account provided by the accused using his brother's account. They had threatened him with dire consequences if he told anyone about the incident.

An FIR was registered at Sadar police station on June 5. A police team nabbed accused Sunil from Jaipur on the same day.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to his involvement in the incident along with his associates. Two main accused were arrested on Thursday from Jaipur, said police.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Varun Dahiya said, "During interrogation, it was revealed that the accused Mohit Kumar Tank, resident of Jaipur, worked as a tourist guide in Jaipur. Nine years ago, he went to work in a disco club where he met Ibrahim Sheikh, owner of Tehelka Channel. Due to his proficiency in English, he started collaborating with Sheikh to carry out sting operations of influential people."

"After the pandemic-induced lockdown, Tank returned to Jaipur. He then started collaborating with Devkinandan and Sunil, who lived nearby, to devise a plan. They targeted their victims through various websites like RentMan, Skoka, Locanto, Gigolo, Massage Republic etc and asked them for services.

"As per their plan, Devkinandan would wait near the gate of a police station and when the targeted person used to arrive at the designated place, Tank would introduce himself as a journalist and threaten to send him to jail by accusing him of cybercrime.

"To create more pressure on the victim and to convince him, they would take him to a secluded place near the police station, where Devkinandan would already be present. He would then pretend to be a police officer, and then they would extort money from the victim in the name of avoiding jail," he said.

Dahiya added that they had also extorted Rs 50,000 from the victim in this case