Posing as T-Series agent, fraudster duped at least 17 aspiring artists in music video scam

NEW DELHI: The Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police has arrested a fraudster for cheating aspiring artists and models by offering fake roles in music videos.

The police were informed about the incident through a complaint registered at the Cyber Police Station, Shahdara.

The accused has been identified as Rahul Dev alias Siddharath (33), a resident of Bharat Colony, Old Faridabad, Sector-16, Haryana.

According to the police, the case came to light after a complaint was filed by Simran Maan, a resident of Vishwas Nagar, Shahdara.

She reported being contacted through social media by individuals posing as casting agents for T-Series.

They informed her that she had been shortlisted for a music video role and needed to travel to Mumbai for an audition.

She was asked to transfer Rs 20,462 for a flight booking, with the promise of reimbursement.

The fraudsters even provided fake Indigo flight tickets to gain her trust. Once the payment was made on March 25, all contact was cut off and she was blocked.

A case under an FIR dated April 11, under Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the BNS was registered. A dedicated team led by Inspector Amit Dhani and supervised by SHO Vijay Kumar and ACP Gurudev Singh conducted a thorough investigation.

They traced a bank account holder, Ekta Sharma, who admitted her account was operated by Rahul Dev. Technical surveillance eventually led to Rahul’s arrest.

Investigations revealed that Rahul Dev and his associate Ashish had duped at least 17 aspiring artists.

Rahul impersonated director Siddharth Ramaswami, while Ashish posed as female casting agents to extract money for fake flight bookings.

Police recovered a mobile phone used in the crime. Further investigation is ongoing to trace other victims and

arrest accomplices.