Fake call centre selling bogus roadside assistance policies busted in central Delhi; 12 held

The Delhi Police has busted a fake call centre allegedly duping people by selling fraudulent roadside assistance policies, apprehending 12 people, including two proprietors, an official said on Tuesday.

The racket was operating from the Guru Arjun Nagar area. Acting on inputs received on April 4, a team conducted a raid at Rattan Lal Complex in Guru Arjun Nagar and unearthed the fraudulent setup, he said.

“During the raid, the team apprehended all 12 people present at the call centre, including the two alleged proprietors identified as Sourabh and Shahnawaz, both aged 28 years,” the officer said.

The police apprehended 10 tele-callers — Anjali (25), Kashish (21), Rajni (20), Gunman (21), Pooja (30), Kavita (26), Manju (20), Raksha (22), Imran (20) and Anu (29) — from the premises, the officer said.

According to the police, the accused were running a fake call centre and cheating customers by offering bogus roadside assistance policies.

“The tele-callers would contact potential victims, both randomly and through targeted data and claim that customers would receive immediate assistance anywhere in India in case of vehicle-related issues such as tyre punctures or breakdowns by calling a helpline number,” the officer said.

To gain customers’ trust, they offered cash-on-delivery payment and assured delivery of a plastic policy card. Upon receiving the card, customers were asked to pay Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000. However, the promised services were never provided.

“During interrogation, the accused disclosed that they had been running the operation for the past six months. They used a keypad mobile phone as the official helpline number and deliberately ignored customer calls after receiving payments,” the officer said.

The accused had no valid registration or licence to run such services, confirming the fraudulent nature of the operation. Police recovered one computer system, fake plastic policy cards, customer data sheets, mobile phones used for calling and an attendance register from the spot.

All the accused and the recovered articles have been handed over to the Ranjeet Nagar police station. A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway, police said.