A 22-year-old man was arrested for allegedly duping people on the pretext of providing oxygen cylinders to them, the police said on Sunday.
The accused has been identified as Jai Kishan, a resident of Jahangirpuri. The police said a case was registered on Tuesday in which complainant, Himanshu, said that his family members had tested COVID positive and he needed oxygen cylinders as his father-in-law’s condition had started deteriorating on April 27.
He came across an advertisement on WhatsApp which assured home delivery of oxygen cylinders.
After the complainant called on the mobile number, the man asked him to transfer ₹20,000 and ₹30,000 in advance for two oxygen cylinders of 20 kg each, a senior police officer said.
The complainant transferred the money but did not receive any cylinder. When he asked the accused to refund the money, the man blocked his number, the police said.
During investigation, the police analysed the phone number and bank account details of the suspect and apprehended him, the officer said.
During interrogation, the accused disclosed that his family had no source of income due to the lockdown.
He knew that there was a huge requirement of oxygen cylinders for COVID patients in the city, the police said.
So he planned to cheat people who were in urgent need of the cylinders. He had cheated more than 10 people and collected around ₹3 lakh, the police said.
