Man duped of Rs 5 lakh after posting accommodation for rent on website, 2 arrested

NEW DELHI, May 26: A man who had posted a property for rent on a website has been allegedly duped of more than Rs 5 lakh by a person in the guise of an army officer, police said on Friday.

Two men, Shivkesh Bairwa (27) and Ramkesh Parjapat (29), both residents of Rajasthan, have been arrested in connection with the case, they said.

According to the police complaint, the victim had listed the accommodation he wanted to rent out on a website. A few days later, he received a message from a person who introduced himself as an army officer and expressed interest in renting the property, a senior police officer said.

The accused then sent the property owner a link to initiate the payment. When the victim clicked on the link, Rs 5,20,000 was deducted from his bank account, the officer said.

Investigation revealed that the amount was credited into five different bank accounts. Of the total amount, Rs 50,000 was credited to Bairwa’s bank account, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Ankit Chauhan said.

The location of the accused was traced in Rajasthan’s Dausa and following a raid on Wednesday Bairwa was nabbed, the police officer said.

He revealed that he had “sold” his account to Parjapat following which the latter was also nabbed. Parjapat, in turn, claimed that he had sold his account to one Khaleed, who is absconding, police added. (PTI)