Man posing as property dealer arrested for cheating in Delhi

A man who allegedly posed as a property dealer, gained the trust of buyers and sellers, collected advance payments and then absconded has been arrested by Delhi Police, officials said on Sunday.

The accused, Rahul Paswan, a resident of Laxmi Nagar in Delhi and originally from Bihar’s Lakhisarai district, was held on Saturday from the parking area near Kashmiri Gate while he was attempting to leave the city, they said.

He had been declared a proclaimed offender on February 3, 2023, in connection with a cheating case registered at the Laxmi Nagar police station in April 2022 under relevant sections of the IPC, they said.

According to the police, Paswan is involved in multiple cheating cases and has been on the run for nearly a year, during which he stayed in Faridabad, Haryana, to evade arrest.

“Acting on credible information, the team laid a trap and apprehended the accused,” a senior police officer said.

Paswan’s modus operandi involved projecting himself as a genuine property dealer. He would show flats or properties to prospective clients, gain their confidence and collect initial payments before disappearing without completing the deal, the police said.

He is wanted in at least three FIRs registered at Laxmi Nagar police station, including cases filed in 2022 and 2024, all pertaining to cheating and fraud, they said.

Several complaints have also been reported against him in Gurugram and Faridabad, the officials added.

A graduate and fluent in English, Paswan had earlier worked as a property dealer in Laxmi Nagar before shifting base to Gurugram and later Faridabad after allegedly cheating several people, the police added.