1 held for duping people of Rs 70 lakh in Delhi's Shakarpur

A 43-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly duping people to the tune of Rs 70 lakh after luring them into various schemes on the promise of high returns, police said.

Acharya Ashokananda Maharaj was apprehended from his native village in Greater Noida's Bisrakh.

Based on a complaint lodged against Maharaj and his other associates in November 2018, a case was registered at the Shakarpur police station, they said.

According to the complaint, the accused persons duped people of Rs 14,30,000 by luring them to invest their money in various schemes of their company.

Police said they have received 15 complaints so far in this regard and the accused persons have allegedly duped people of Rs 70 lakh.

The accused usually targeted housewives asking them to invest money in short-term schemes of their company, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (east) Jasmeet Singh.

The accused used to attract women by holding religious functions in Shakarpur, he said. They asked housewives to invest Rs 1,000 per month for 10 months and then promised Rs 15,000 after the completion of the cycle, the DCP said.

Several notices were served to the accused persons but they never turned up for investigation and approached sessions court as well as the Delhi High Court to seek anticipatory bail, he said.

However, the plea was dismissed, he added.