Two Delhi women duped of Rs 13 lakh, accused arrested

A 24-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district, identified as Gagan Sharma, has been apprehended by the police for allegedly deceiving two women, including a cricketer, out of Rs 13 lakh. The incident came to light when the victims, Ananya Jain and Swati Tyagi, filed a complaint with the authorities.

According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), Amrutha Guguloth, the victims encountered Sharma at a park in Preet Vihar, where he was offering cricket coaching. After discovering that Tyagi was a cricket player, Sharma portrayed himself as a member of an Indian Premier League (IPL) team, displaying pictures of himself wearing a team jersey.

Sharma enticed the women by claiming to have influential connections through his relatives, including a sister who was purportedly a high court judge, a father who served as a station house officer in Delhi Police, and an uncle who held a directorial position in a public bank. He assured Tyagi that he could secure her a sponsorship from a sports company, enabling her to participate in the Ranji Trophy tournament. To substantiate his claims, Sharma provided Tyagi with a counterfeit sponsorship letter and a forged cheque.

Additionally, Sharma offered Jain assistance in obtaining a job in a public sector bank, providing her with a forged appointment letter. In exchange for his services, Sharma demanded a total sum of Rs 13 lakh from both victims. Upon verification, the authorities confirmed that the letters provided by Sharma were fraudulent.

Following investigations, the police conducted raids and apprehended the accused on Saturday at V3S Mall in Nirman Vihar. It was revealed that Sharma’s father works as a farmer in Bulandshahr. (With inputs from PTI)