New Delhi: The Cyber Cell of Delhi Police has arrested two graduates for duping a Head Constable of the force by promising admission for her son in IP University under the management quota.
The accused were identified as Kushagra Shrivastava (35), son of Vijay Kumar Shrivastava, and Chinmaya Sinha (32), son of Kewal Kumar, both residents of Niti Khand-1, Indirapuram.
Police said the men, operating from Ghaziabad, were arrested with Rs 1.34 crore in unaccounted cash, six high-end mobile phones and a laptop.
They posed as admission consultants, luring unsuspecting parents through bulk SMS campaigns that promised seats in reputed colleges and universities across Delhi under the management quota. Once the money was collected, they shut their offices and switched off their phones.
The racket came to light after a complaint on August 25 from Head Constable Mukesh, who reported being duped while seeking admission for her son in IP University. She had received an SMS from the sender ID JM-IPUUDL-P and was directed to an office in Nehru Place. After negotiations, she paid Rs 2.3 lakh of an agreed Rs 3.5 lakh for a seat at Surajmal College, but the fraudsters soon disappeared.
Investigations revealed at least 31 similar complaints against the group, many already transferred to the Economic Offences Wing.
A special team from the Cyber Police Station in Dwarka carried out a multi-layered probe using technical surveillance, digital footprint analysis and IP tracing. The accused were tracked to Indirapuram, where raids led to their arrest.
Shrivastava, a B.Tech graduate, and Sinha, a B.Com graduate, had devised a systematic modus operandi to target parents of students who had just completed Class 12, exploiting admission-related anxieties to extract hefty sums.
The operation was supervised by DCP Ankit Singh, IPS, and ACP Ram Avtar, Ops, with the raids led by Inspector Rajeev Kumar, SHO, Cyber Dwarka, and his team. Officers were praised for their technical expertise and swift coordination.
Both accused are under interrogation to trace the wider network and possible interstate links. The Income Tax Department has been alerted to the recovery of unaccounted cash.
Police urged citizens to remain vigilant against fraudulent admission offers and to verify credentials before making any payments.