The Delhi Police has dismantled a fraudulent call centre operating in south Delhi’s Govindpuri and arrested 11 persons, including the alleged kingpins of the racket, the officers said on Friday. 

According to police officers, the accused lured victims through social media advertisements and cheated them on the pretext of selling weight-loss products. 

The racket came to light following a complaint by a Gurugram resident, who alleged that he had been defrauded of ₹13,200. During the investigation, the police traced the money trail to a mule bank account operated by Pawan Kumar. 

On questioning, Kumar told the police that he had shared his bank account details with his employer in exchange for a commission. This led investigators to a firm named ‘Herbitecture Healthcare’, which was allegedly being used as a front for the illegal call centre. 

During a raid at the premises on April 8, the police found a fully functional call centre with 31 employees (21 women and 10 men) engaged in tele-calling activities. 

The police identified Sandeep Chaudhary (27), Ashwini Kumar alias Tushar (23) and Neeraj Gupta (23) as the key operators of the racket. Officers said the trio had prior experience in similar operations and had been running the set-up since May 2023. Chaudhary and Kumar allegedly handled operations and finances, while Gupta was involved in tele-calling and execution. 

While 11 persons have been arrested in total, another partner, Ritu Kumari, along with 20 women employees, has been identified and served notices to join the investigation. 

According to the police, the accused used platforms like Instagram and Facebook to advertise weight-loss products. Interested users were contacted and persuaded to place orders. 

“Initial deliveries were made to gain the trust of victims. They were later induced to make additional payments on various pretexts. Eventually, either the products were not delivered or the accused stopped responding,” said Anant Mittal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South). 

The proceeds of the fraud were routed through mule accounts and courier-based transactions. 

During the raid, the police seized 35 mobile phones, three laptops, one desktop computer, 15 new SIM cards and 35 returned parcels containing medicines. Bank documents, cheque books and other incriminating material were also recovered. 

Officers said the financial transactions linked to the racket are under scrutiny, and possible links with cyber fraud cases across the country are being examined. The role of other employees and associates is also under investigation.