A team of Delhi Police Cyber Crime Unit (CyPAD) have arrested three persons who duped actor Isha Sharv of about Rs 3 lakh by threatening to arrest her for tax violations.
The accused have been identified as 24-years-old Bhanuj Berry, 34-years-old Puneet Chadha and 23-years-old Rishabh Khanna. All three are residents of Delhi.
In an official statement, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) CyPAD Delhi, Anyesh Roy on Thursday said, "A team of CyPAD Delhi have arrested three persons for running a major scam that is believed to have affected more than a hundred persons living in Australia."
"The accused persons called up people in Australia, pretending to be from the Australian Tax Office and threatened to arrest them for tax violations. The victims, more often than not, got intimidated and coughed up huge sums of money to stay out of trouble," Roy added.
"A complaint was received at CyPAD Delhi from a prominent Indian female actor/performer, Isha Sharv, who is now a resident of Perth," Roy said.
"The accused persons intimidated the victim into transferring money to them via Western Union (3,500 AUD) and RIA Money Transfer (2,500 AUD)," he stated.
The DCP further said that after the complaint was received, the details of the recipient were sought from Western Union and RIA Money Transfer and based on the information, the CyPAD team was able to track down Berry who is a registered agent with Western Union.
"Initially, he tried to mislead the team by showing false documents but on detailed questioning, he disclosed his involvement in the scam along with the other accused persons. Subsequently, Chadha and Khanna were also apprehended while they were trying to flee from Delhi," the DCP said. The arrests were made on Wednesday.
"The accused persons have disclosed to having duped more than 100 persons living in Australia so far in the last 7-8 months to the tune of several crores of rupees. Investigation of the case is in progress," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )