Three arrested in Delhi police crackdown on fake airline job call centre
Delhi Police have arrested three people — two of them women — after busting an alleged fake call centre in east Delhi that promised airline jobs to job seekers in exchange for money. The accused allegedly posed as human resources representatives of an airline company and offered ground-duty positions, before asking victims to pay registration and other employment-related charges through UPI.
The three arrested have been identified as Mohammad Zaid, 30, Sadaf, 24, and Tanisha, 21, all residents of Delhi, according to police.
The case emerged after a Chhattisgarh resident filed a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal alleging that he had been offered a job for Rs 14,000 by a person posing as an HR representative. The complainant transferred Rs 14,500 through UPI but later realized he had been cheated.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Rajeev Kumar said that during the inquiry, the money trail was traced to a bank account from which the amount was withdrawn through an ATM in east Delhi. An FIR was registered on August 20.
Investigators found that the bank account was in Zaid's name. His movements were tracked, and he was arrested from Laxmi Nagar. His questioning then led police to Sadaf and Tanisha.
Police said the trio was allegedly running a call centre from Laxmi Nagar to target job seekers. "The accused used multiple mobile numbers to contact prospective victims, impersonated as HR personnel of the airlines company and offered them ground-duty positions," the officer said.
Victims were asked to transfer money to different bank accounts through UPI, after which the cash was withdrawn from nearby ATMs and shared among the accused, he added.
Investigation details and recovery
Police said Sadaf had allegedly been running the call centre for about three months. During a search, police recovered six smartphones, three keypad mobile phones with multiple SIM cards, cash from Sadaf, and the SIM allegedly used in the present case.
They also found two other complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal linked to mobile numbers allegedly used by the accused.
Background of the accused
Zaid is a school dropout and was unemployed, while Sadaf had dropped out in the second year of her BA course. Tanisha is a Class 12 pass and had first started working with Sadaf before allegedly becoming involved in the fraud.
Further investigation is underway.