Man arrested for duping 6 people of Rs 15 cr by posing as ministry official

A 49-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly posing as a senior Union Health Ministry official and duping six people of Rs 15 crore on the pretext of providing work orders for Covid vaccine transportation, police said on Thursday.

Umesh Batra (49) was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police. Batra used to work for a construction company but his financial situation took a hit during the lockdown and he resorted to cheating people after joining hands with the kingpin behind the scam Harmenn Sabherwal, Govind Tulshyan and three other people, all of whom have been arrested, they said.

Police said a probe was initiated after several complaints were received from people who claimed to have been duped of Rs 3-4 crore on the pretext of providing work orders for transportation of Covid vaccines.

After a preliminary enquiry, a case was registered and an investigation taken up. Six complainants came forward and the total amount they were duped off came out to be Rs 15 .