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Delhi man dupes retired pharmacist of Rs 1.75 crore over fake plot docs; arrested
Delhi Police arrested alleged fraudster Vinod Kumar Bhardwaj in Dwarka in a fake plot case. The arrest advances the probe into a Rs 1.75 crore scam targeting a retired pharmacist's savings.
A man has been arrested for allegedly duping a retired Tihar Jail pharmacist of Rs 1.75 crore by using fake documents to sell him six plots.
The Delhi Police has arrested a man wanted in a Rs 1.75 crore cheating and forgery case in which a retired Tihar Jail pharmacist was duped into buying six plots on the basis of fake documents, officials said on Thursday.
The accused, identified as Vinod Kumar Bhardwaj, also known as Rahul and Pappu, was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 and had been declared a proclaimed offender by a Tis Hazari court, police said.
The case was registered at Ranhola police station on the complaint of Kailash Narayan, who retired as a senior pharmacist from Tihar Jail in 2024.
According to police, Bhardwaj came to know of Narayan through a property dealer, Parveen, and, along with his wife, brother-in-law BS Bhardwaj and other associates, allegedly lured him into investing his retirement savings in property.
Police said the accused convinced Narayan to purchase six plots and sold them to him using fake and fabricated documents, causing him a loss of about Rs 1.75 crore.
After the case was registered, all the accused allegedly absconded. A senior police officer said the court issued proclamations against them on May 12, after which a reward of Rs 50,000 was announced for their arrest.
Police said they later received information about Bhardwaj's movements and developed intelligence through field sources and technical analysis. During the intervening night of September 13 and 14, the team got specific information that he was in Sector 5, Dwarka. A trap was laid and he was arrested from a residential society in the area, police said.
According to police, Bhardwaj is a habitual offender and had earlier been involved in four other criminal cases, including three under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and one under Section 354 of the IPC, registered at different police stations in Delhi.
Police said he studied up to Class 5 and works as a labourer and whitewasher. He lives with his wife, two sons and a daughter.
Police said further investigation is under way to establish the role of his associates and trace the financial transactions and properties linked to the fraud.