One of them is 44-year-old Bhalinder Pal Singh, alias Bhalinder Singh alias GS Bali alias Jasraj Sehgal.
New Delhi: Mithilesh Kumar Srivastava, better known as Natwarlal, famously “sold” Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Parliament and Rashtrapati Bhavan on many occasions. The digital age has given rise to a new breed of impostors who cast their webs of deception online.
Armed with a smartphone, a revolving door of aliases to project fabricated political connections and the official Ashoka emblem prominently displayed on his WhatsApp account to seal the illusion of authority, Singh had 25 cases of cheating, extortion and impersonation against his name when he recently claimed his latest victim in Dwarka. Posing as the spouse of a prominent politician, he allegedly targeted Inder Singh Nagpal, the proprietor of a private tour and travel company operating out of Sector-6, Dwarka. Nagpal proceeded to transfer nearly Rs 1.7 lakh across bank accounts provided by Singh, who also convinced him to book an Air India flight ticket from Delhi to Lucknow.
Because the person responsible for making the payment was on leave, the conman requested a temporary financial cushion, pretending that a student’s academic fee needed to be settled with extreme urgency. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Delhi | Silver Rate in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Petrol Price in Delhi | Diesel Price in Delhi | CNG Price in Delhi | LPG Price in Delhi Stay updated with the latest Delhi news. He assured Nagpal that the entire amount would be reimbursed promptly through the politician’s office. Throughout the transactions and the days that followed, the accused maintained regular communication with Nagpal over WhatsApp, using the state emblem to repeatedly validate his false identity and keep the victim from growing suspicious. Singh has been declared a proclaimed offender in four cases, while non-bailable warrants have been issued in four other cases registered in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. He has been sent to judicial custody. Police are investigating whether he cheated more people. Download the TOI App.
The case came to light after Nagpal formally lodged a complaint on Sept 11, according to deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Kushal Pal Singh. Singh faces legal action under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), with charges filed against him under Section 319(2) for cheating by personation, Section 318(4) for cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, and Section 61(2) for criminal conspiracy. Investigators obtained the internet-use details from the telecom service provider and traced Singh to Sector-43, Gurgaon. There they checked around 120 houses before zeroing in on him at a place where he was allegedly staying as Jasraj Sehgal.
The matter was reported to the authorities, leading to a probe by Dwarka Police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell.
Police said Singh had rented the Scorpio-N to project himself as an influential person. The elaborate facade finally collapsed when the financial promises fell through, prompting Nagpal to realise he had been duped. The team tracked down and arrested the impostor. Following a preliminary assessment, an FIR was registered at Dwarka South police station two days later. Police found that Singh’s WhatsApp account had been created using a SIM registered with a fake identity and an incomplete address. Two Aadhaar cards bearing the same number were allegedly recovered from him. Police also seized the mobile phone used for the WhatsApp account, along with a Scorpio-N, two other mobile phones and a cheque book.