Man held for duping delivery boy by posing as customer in Delhi

The accused has been identified as a resident of Dakshinpuri

A 24-year-old man was arrested for allegedly duping a delivery boy working for a grocery store in southeast Delhi's Lajpat Nagar area by posing as a customer, police said on Saturday.

The accused has been identified as Vikash, a resident of Dakshinpuri. He was arrested on Friday, they said.

A complaint in the matter was lodged by the store owner on Tuesday.

The complainant, Atul Bajaj, alleged that he received an order for some items to be delivered to D-126, Lajpat Nagar on Tuesday, a senior police officer said.

When his delivery boy reached near the house, he met Vikash, who claimed to be the driver of the house owner. The accused took the items from the delivery boy and Rs 1,700, the balance payment for the order, and left saying that he would be back with Rs 2,000, the officer said.

The delivery boy waited but nobody came back. Later, it was found that the residents of D-126, Lajpat Nagar had not placed the order, he added.

During investigation, the phone number which was used to make the call to the store was put on surveillance. CCTV footage of nearby areas was also checked. The suspect was traced to Dakshinpuri and arrested on Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) R P Meena said.

The accused told the police that he is unemployed. Earlier, he used to commit thefts to sustain himself. He had been duping people by posing as a customer for two years, he said.

He would place an order as per his requirement. He placed orders of less than Rs 1,000 so that the victim may not file a police complaint, the officer said.