An online fraud racket operating under the guise of a popular real estate website was busted in Mewat, the police said on Friday.
Following raids, two accused — Sahil, 19, a resident of Alwar, and Varis, 20, a resident of Deeg — were arrested from Rajasthan, an officer said, adding that their modus operandi involved masquerading as Army officers to to entrap people renting out their properties on 99acre.com.
The case was brought to light after a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force reported a loss of ₹2.29 lakh after renting out his property to a man who appeared to be in the Army, police said. In his complaint, the victim alleged he had posted an advertisement to rent out his apartment on the website, after which he received calls from one Deepak Pawar Bajrang, who also provided seemingly legitimate identification proof regarding his posting in an Army unit.
The accused allegedly suggested he would pay rent via the Army Merchant office, and assured the victim of a two-way beneficiary scheme. The complainant alleged he was subsequently defrauded of ₹2,29,985.
Upon lodging a case and analysing the evidence, the police on August 27 conducted raids at Imarti Ka Bas village in Rajasthan’s Alwar and made the two arrests.
After sustained interrogation, both accused disclosed they were relatives and had been committing cyber crime for many years. They said they downloaded identification details of Army personnel from open sources and registered fake accounts on that basis.
They also advertised for jobs, flats, furniture, motorbikes and more on the app, police said.
