Mumbai: Four members of an inter-state gang have been arrested for allegedly cheating over 1,200 people in parts of the country on the pretext of providing jobs to them in foreign countries, police said on Monday.
Acting on a tip-off, the accused, identified as Amit Patole, Sarfaraz Sheikh and Abdul Ansari (all from Uttar Pradesh) and Amardip Chauhan (from Delhi), Andheri police arrested from the city last week.
They used to set up offices, collect money in the range of Rs 40,00 and Rs 1,00,000 from the unemployed people and flee after collecting money from them, an official said.
"A case in this regard had been registered at Andheri police station in 2014. The gang used to set up office in a particular area and publish advertisements in different newspapers promising jobs in foreign countries," DCP Zone X, N D Reddy told reporters in Mumbai.
"Once the job aspirants came and deposited the money with them, they used to wind up the office and flee with the amount," he said.
Another official said that based on a tip-off that the gang members are in Mumbai and planning to set up similar office in Goregan, Andheri police laid a trap and arrested the four accused.
After the arrest of the gang members, various offences committed by them at different places also came to light, the DCP said.
"Using this modus operandi, they cheated over 180 people from suburban Andheri and 500 from Kandivali. Besides, the gang duped over 600 people in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi," the official said.
Patole and Chauhan, who are the main accused, used to call people and explain to them about the lucrative job prospects, the other two acted as office boys.
They have booked under section 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and other relevant sections of IPC, the official said, adding more people could be involved in the case.
The accused are have been remanded in police custody and further investigation into the case is underway, he added.
