Bhalinder Pal Singh was nabbed in Gurugram on September 18 after a Dwarka businessman handed over Rs 1.69 lakh to a caller posing as a politician’s spouse.
The call began on September 11, when the businessman claimed the spouse needed urgent funds to pay a student’s fee and assured a refund through official channels. Using the Ashoka emblem as his messaging app avatar, Singh fabricated an image of authority that lured the victim into transferring money to three different bank accounts and booking a flight to Lucknow.
Police logged the complaint on September 13, registered an FIR at Dwarka South and immediately extracted the IP address from the suspect’s SIM. Cross‑checking with the telecom provider led investigators to a rented SUV in Gurugram’s Sector 43, where Singh had been living under the alias Jasraj Sehgal, complete with a fake driving licence and two Aadhaar cards.
The Delhi Police officer on the case noted Singh’s shadowy resume: 25 prior cheating, impersonation and extortion cases across Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, with four proclaimed‑offender notices and four non‑bailable warrants pending. He added that the probe is still underway, with a possible court appearance scheduled for early October.
For the businessman, the loss has hit his family hard: his wife says the money was earmarked for their daughter’s university fees, and they now face an unforeseen financial hurdle that could delay her admission.
The arrest underscores a growing trend of identity‑based scams in the capital’s business circles, prompting the police to issue a warning to the public to verify any official claims before transferring money.
The case will be heard in the Delhi Magistrate Court on October 5, where the accused will answer charges of fraud and impersonation.