The police are trying to recover the extorted money from the accused. (Representational)
A 28-year-old man was arrested in Delhi's Uttam Nagar for allegedly befriending women and duping them by extorting money on the pretext of some serious illness affecting his family members, police said on Friday.
The accused, Mohit Goyal, demanded money from women by emotionally blackmailing them and changed his mobile number soon after receiving the amount from them, they said.
The police said action was taken against Goyal after a woman approached them with a complaint alleging that the accused met her last year in October regarding a loan. After she became friends with him, he met her once with another person and asked her for money to treat his nephew, who is battling cancer.
On emotional grounds, she then gave Rs 75,000 to Goyal, some in cash and rest through online mode. He also got two mobile phones financed in her name, took the delivery for himself and later sold it to another person and fled.
Later, he sent a fake screenshot of the money transfer to the complainant when she demanded the money, the complaint stated.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), said Santosh Kumar Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka).
During investigation, it emerged that the accused had kept changing his mobile number and location continuously. On the basis of a tip-off, a police team traced Goyal and arrested him on Wednesday from Uttam Nagar, he said.
"Goyal used to become friends with innocent girls. Then, he emotionally blackmailed them on the pretext of serious illness of his near and dear children and demanded money from them. Once he got the money, he would change his contact number," the senior police officer said.
The police are trying to recover the extorted money from the accused while efforts are being made to ascertain his involvements in other cases including that of cheating as investigation of the case is in progress.