Hans News Service New Delhi

Fourcyber fraudsters have been arrested for allegedly running a multi-city racket for duping people on the pretext of booking discounted air tickets, an official said on Thursday. The police recovered Rs 47 lakh in cash and a Mercedes S-Class car, among other things, from the possession of the accused, the official said. The accused have been identified as Mridul Joshi (35), the mastermind, Himanshu Anil Sharma (24), Gaurav (20) and Rakesh (52).

“The syndicate was operating across Delhi, Goa and Mumbai, targeting victims through social media platforms and fake travel booking services,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said in a statement. According to the police, the case came to light after a complaint was lodged at the Cyber Police Station in the Southwest district on April 7.

The complainant alleged that his brother, based in Canada, was cheated of Rs 3.8 lakh while attempting to book flight tickets from Toronto to Delhi through a social media page offering discounted fares. The victim was contacted via a US-based number and persuaded to transfer money on the assurance of confirmed bookings, which later turned out to be fraudulent. A team was constituted to probe the matter and analyse digital footprints, call detail records and financial transactions. Investigators traced the operation to a coordinated network spanning multiple locations.

Police said Joshi was running the operation from Patel Nagar in Delhi and had set up a fake call centre in Goa to target victims.