Two arrested for impersonating Navy officers, cheating women on Instagram

New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS) Two fraudsters were arrested for posing as Navy officers, doctors and engineers in foreign countries and cheating women on social media site Instagram, a police officer said on Saturday.

With the arrest of the duo identified as Sunder Singh (22), a resident of Nilothi Extension, West Delhi and Harmony Samuel (27), a Nigerian national, the police claimed to have solved 10 cases of cheating in which women were duped of lakhs of rupees.

According to police, an FIR was registered on October 25, in which the complainant alleged that she received a message from an unknown Instagram ID 'marino_ingegnere1' for friendship who introduced himself as a Sea Engineer from Norway.

Subsequently, the individual proposed marriage to the complainant and mentioned their intention to send gifts and Euros from Norway.

“To receive these gifts/parcels, the complainant was asked to cover the custom clearance charges. Additionally, the alleged person requested the complainant to provide funds for his airfare to India. In total, the complainant transferred an approximate sum of Rs 11,39,000 to various accounts specified by the fraudster,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka), M Harsha Vardhan.

During the investigation, the authorities obtained information regarding the beneficiary's bank account.

“Through technical surveillance and a detailed analysis of the account information, the suspect was traced to Chandra Vihar. The person involved in the fraud, identified as Sunder Singh, was arrested for receiving the ill-gotten money in his bank account,” said the DCP.

Upon interrogation, Singh revealed that he operated a grocery store and received the fraudulent funds in his accounts at the behest of a Nigerian national, who acted as a middleman on a commission basis.

“Singh retained a portion of the cheated amount, approximately 10 per cent, as his commission, and then provided the remaining funds to the co-accused Nigerian national in cash,” said the DCP.

A strategic operation was subsequently set up in the vicinity of Chandra Vihar near Singh's grocery store, leading to the apprehension of the co-accused Nigerian national.

“Identified as Harmony Samuel, he was found to possess images portraying himself as a Sea engineer on his mobile phone,” said the DCP.

The investigation revealed that the Nigerian accused person operated multiple fake Instagram accounts, impersonating foreigners such as Navy Officers, Doctors, Engineers, and others from various foreign countries.

“Using these accounts, he engaged in regular conversations with girls and women, gradually gaining their trust and even proposing marriage. The fraudsters sent fictitious gifts and parcels to Indian airports, prompting the victims to cover custom clearance charges through different bank accounts, ultimately deceiving innocent girls and women in this manner,” said the DCP.