Two men allegedly duped more than 4,000 youths searching for jobs online after luring them with offers to work as gigolo and escorts, police said on Wednesday.
The accused have been identified as Kuldeep Singh Charan (29) and Shyam Lal Yogi (33), both residents of Jaipur in Rajasthan, they said, adding that both were arrested from Jaipur.
"One of the accused used to pose as a woman NRI client and talk in a female voice to induce youngsters," a senior police officer said.
A complaint was lodged where the complainant alleged that he was searching for online job, came across a website 'SP Playboy services.com' and contacted on the given number mentioned on the website, the officer said.
On the pretext of providing job, the accused demanded Rs 2,499 as initial registration fee and subsequently issued an identity card to complainant on WhatsApp, police said.
Thereafter, the accused started demanding money in the name of advance commission of 40 per cent, massage kit, pass code charges and hotel booking charges. The allegedly duped the complainant to the tune of Rs 39,190, the officer said.
Also Watch: Maharashtra: police files murder charge in journalist's death case
During investigation, police nabbed Charan from Sector 12, Jaipur in Rajasthan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer north) Devesh Kumar Mahla said.
The cheated amount was found in the co-accused's bank account which was registered in the name of Yogi. The phone number given to complainant in the name of NRI client was with Yogi, the DCP said.
Both the accused belong to the same village and were currently residing together at Thadi Market, Mansarovar, Sector-12 Jaipur. According to the investigation carried out so far, they were defrauding people in the name of gigolo and escort services since 2017 and duped more than 4,000 people, Mahla said.
They have used more than a dozen bank accounts for receiving the cheated amount. Yogi was arrested on January 25, police said.
Yogi worked as receptionist at a hotel till 2017. He is fluent in Hindi and English. He can also mimic the voice of girls and posed as NRI women client, the DCP said.
Both the accused were working on online fraud of playboy, escort, gigolo and dating services for the past four years. The web developer who developed that website has been served notice and his role in the case is being examined, they said.
Four mobile phones, one laptop, one desktop, one hard disc, etc. were recovered from their possession, police added.