Janardhan Dwivedi's 'nephew' dupes several people

A man posing as nephew of Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi duped three people of Rs 34 lakh in the Capital on pretext of doing their odd jobs using his political influence.

Vinod Pathak, a resident of Budh Vihar in outer Delhi, approached police after realising that he was cheated by a conman — Vijay Kumar Dwivedi, who claimed to be the nephew of Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi.

Vijay hails from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. “My friend Nathu Lal told me that his shop, in Shakurpur, which was closed for many years was reopened with the help of Vijay. So, I told Lal that a fair price shop in name of Bharat Singh Babu Lal is closed for many years and I want to get it reopened,” said Pathak.

Lal then introduced Vijay, who lived in rented accommodation at Sector-5 in Rohini, to Pathak and his cousin, Narinder Bhardwaj. Vijay assured them that their work will be done and he demanded Rs 6 lakh for it.

“He assured us that he can get the papers cleared and after that the shop will be re-opened,” Pathak said. 

“He told us that he had talked to his uncle Janardhan Dwivedi regarding the matter and instructed commissioner of food and supply department on phone.” Pathak gave Rs 4.5 lakh as an advance.

Vijay told him that he was looking for some candidates for the post of clerk and peon in Delhi Development Authority. Pathak proposed the name of his other two cousins — Amit Kumar and Vikash. Vijay demanded Rs 6 lakh more for getting them the jobs. And Pathak gave Rs 3 lakh as an advance.

Vijay also promised to secure a job for his sister, Monika, at Guru Nanak College, where she had applied. And he took Rs 3 lakh for it. Luckily, Monika got the job and everyone was convinced about Vijay’s credentials.

Vijay lured Pathak by offering a gas agency in Delhi for which he took Rs 26 lakh. When his cousins did not get the job and Vijay kept on delaying, Pathak and Bhardwaj got suspicious.

They found out that Monika got the job on merit. They tried to get in touch with him but he would make excuses like he was shooting a film in Mumbai and had to go abroad. Vijay promised to look into the matter once he was back.

But after waiting for almost four months, Pathak had a heated argument with him over the phone. Vijay threatened him of dire consequences and said he would not repay the money.

Pathak approached economic offences wing of Delhi Police and registered a case of cheating against Vijay.

“We are looking for the accused and most probably he is in Mumbai. We have come to know that he has cheated many people in Mumbai too,” said a senior police officer.