JOIN USDelhi Police have arrested a 44-year-old man, once a Sociology lecturer in Meerut University, for duping jobseekers in the city to the tune of over Rs 1.5 crore.
Avinash Kumar Pundir, a PhD degree holder, was arrested from his hideout in Bhubaneshwar in Odisha on Sunday, said V Renganathan, additional commissioner of police (west).
His arrest comes nine years after Delhi Police booked him on charges of cheating.
Avinash along with his wife Sangita and associate Deepak Kumar used to cheat people on the pretext of offering them well-paid computer data entry jobs. However, their luck ran out when one Harvinder Singh Saggu lodged a police complaint.
“The trio had floated a fake company - DSA Consultant Pvt Ltd. Promising lucrative jobs, they obtained several lakh of rupees as security deposit. Harvinder had alleged that he was duped of around Rs 12 lakh on fake promises of being given a data entry job for Rs 80,000 per month,” Renganathan said.
Avinash and his associates were untraceable after Harvinder paid them a hefty amount and were declared proclaimed offenders in 2003. After he was declared a proclaimed offender, Meerut University terminated Avinash’s services.
“Our team was working on leads that Avinash was presently residing in Bhubaneswar. The information was developed and it was established that the accused was staying at Mahavir Nagar,” Renganathan said.
Police then conducted a raid at the hideout and arrested Avinash. He was later brought to Delhi and was produced before a court, which sent him to judicial custody.
Though police arrested Avinash from his hideout, Sangita and Deepak are still at large.