Mumbai man held for cheating and sexually harassing women in Delhi

A 35-year-old man has been arrested for cheating and sexually harassing several women, by posing either as a policeman or an official of a telephone company.

Ravi Bhupinder Nath Verma, a resident of Navi Mumbai, was arrested from Vasi Nagar in Mumbai on Saturday by a team of Delhi Police.

Police said Verma would call up women living in upscale societies and tell that a family member has been arrested for making obscene calls or sending vulgar texts. He would ask the women to deposit security money to help out the family member. Once, he got hold of the money, Verma would sexually harass his victims, police said.

"Verma has 13 cases of cheating, impersonation and sexual harassment against him in Mumbai. He has been involved in crime since 2003," a police officer said.

Verma had allegedly called 2,500 women in Delhi in the past six months.

"He worked on a trial-and-error basis. He would make around 250 calls every day to women staying in posh localities of Delhi and Mumbai. He would extort money from whoever was trapped," said Chhaya Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South).

Verma would not allow his victims to call the relative who he said was arrested, saying any contact might lead to "strict action" against the family member, Sharma said.

Police said Verma travelled to Delhi often and used to stay at a hotel in Paharganj.

A 25-year-old woman, a resident of Vasant Kunj and an MNC employee, had approached the police in February claiming she had been cheated of Rs 25,000.

She told police that on February 25 she received a call from one Shruti Singh, who said she was a police officer with the Crime Branch in Rohini.

Police later found out that Verma used to change his voice and make these calls.

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