Having cheated multiple five-star hotels and resorts of lakhs of rupees as well as cricketer Rishabh Pant of ₹1.63 crore, a conman was arrested from Delhi airport while trying to flee the country, the police said on Wednesday.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Ravikant Kumar said Mrinank Singh was planning to fly to Hong Kong on Monday, but immigration officials detained the 25-year-old as a lookout circular had been issued against the accused and handed him to the police.
“During his detention, Mr. Singh tried to influence officials by claiming to be the son of an Additional Director General of Police of Karnataka and by pretending to call senior police officers,” Mr. Kumar added.
“The accused is a resident of Faridabad, who had graduated from Delhi University’s Hindu College, completed an MBA from Rajasthan’s OPJS University, and was a former cricketer who represented the Haryana Under-19 cricket team,” he said.
Giving details of the investigation against Mr. Singh, the ADCP said a complaint was filed on August 22 at the Chanakyapuri police station by the director of security of Taj Palace Hotel.
As per the complaint, the accused posed as a cricketer for the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians and stayed at the hotel from July 22 to 29, accruing a bill of ₹5,53,362. When asked to pay the dues, he said sporting goods maker Adidas would do so and gave the details of his manager ‘Gagan Singh’.
The complainant found out that the manager was a fake persona created by the accused and the hotel learnt from Adidas that it had no idea who Mr. Singh was.
“Teams were formed to trace Mr. Singh, who changed his locations multiple times, switched off his mobile phone, and did not update his social media profiles,” the ADCP said.
The police said the accused led his acquaintances to believe that he had settled in Dubai, adding that they secured a non-bailable warrant against him and issued the lookout circular, which eventually helped lead to his arrest.
“He was produced in the court and taken into police custody for two days. There is a possibility that more victims may come forward. The investigation is on and his mobile phone is being analysed,” the ADCP said.
According to a senior officer, Mr. Singh cheated Rishabh Pant of ₹1.63 crore during 2020-21.
