New Delhi, Jan 25 Delhi Police have arrested a serial cheater and womaniser, who preyed on lady co-passengers during journeys.
The arrest of the 30-year-old accused, who reportedly drew inspiration from the 2011 Bollywood film 'Ladies vs Ricky Bahl', resulted in the recovery of stolen jewellery, articles purchased with ill-gotten wealth, and a strip containing four Alprax tablets, the police said.
The accused has been identified as Ankit Choudhary (30), a resident of Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh.
The case came to light after a woman named Rashmi Chaudhary lodged a complaint with the Delhi Cantt police station on January 9.
Rashmi detailed an incident that took place on January 8 when she boarded a bus from Dehradun to Delhi.
"A man, who was later identified as Ankit Choudhary, sat beside her and offered her food, and ultimately duped her with promises of employment in the Delhi Cantt area. Under the influence of drugged food, Rashmi lost Rs 23,000 via UPI transactions, and her jewellery, including her mangal sutra, ring and earrings, were stolen,” said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest), Rohit Meena.
During probe, a police team traced the accused's route, analysed CCTV footage, and conducted inquiries.
“On Monday, the team successfully apprehended Choudhary from near the Kashmiri Gate bus terminal after receiving a tip-off,” the DCP said.
The subsequent interrogation revealed his modus operandi of befriending co-passengers, particularly women, by offering false promises of jobs or marriage.
"He cheated them on one pretext or the other. A strip containing four Alprax sedative tablets which were given to the complainant was recovered from his possession. From his residence, jewellery, including one mangal sutra, ring, earrings and articles purchased using cheated money were recovered,” the officer said.
Choudhary was previously arrested from Bareilly, UP, for a similar offence in March 2023.
“He was released on bail in July 2023, but he resumed his fraudulent activities. The accused confessed to cheating multiple women, with previous involvements in cases in Ludhiana, and Bareilly,” said the DCP.
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