New Delhi: A 30-year-old Afghan national, who allegedly cheated Rs 21.8 lakh from his partner back home and had been in hiding in Delhi for the last six months, was arrested following a complaint from the Embassy of Afghanistan, police said on Saturday.
Abdul Ghani (30) was arrested on Tuesday after it received a tip off that he frequents many shops in Lajpat Nagar Market Part II. His custody was handed over to FRRO for deportation to Afghanistan. He is now lodged in a detention centre at Lampur.
"We had received a complaint from Embassy of Afghanistan on Sunday through the Ministry of External Affairs wherein it was alleged that Ghani has cheated his partner Bashir Ahmed of Rs 21.80 lakhs and has fled to New Delhi to avoid arrest.
He has been living in New Delhi for past six months," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav.
Bashir Ahmed came to India and visited the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi and asked them to trace Ghani. The Embassy provided the mobile number and black and white photograph of the accused. It also sought urgent action for the arrest and deportation of the accused for his fraudulent activities, police said.
"Technical surveillance was initiated on the mobile number of Abdul Ghani but the number was switched off on October 26. During investigation, it was ascertained that the caller had made several calls to Lajpat Nagar, Part II, following which a discreet watch was kept in the market. Finally, on Sunday, Ghani was spotted in the market visiting a shop and he was apprehended," said Yadav.
During interrogation, Ghani reportedly told police that he
started a business of garments in partnership with Bashir Ahmed in Kandhar, Afghanistan. Ahmed paid him Rs 21.80 lakh as an investment in the business but Ghani misappropriated the amount, police said.
When he came to know that Ahmed is contemplating legal action, he applied for Indian visa on the pretext of medical treatment and fled his country.
He arrived in India on August 7 and stayed in Lajpat Nagar-II. He worked as Pashto translator for Afghan nationals coming to India for medical treatment in various hospitals of the city, police said.
