4 held for duping people through online escort and massage racket

Jaipur: The city police arrested four persons Tuesday for allegedly duping people through an online escort and massage service racket, using social media platforms to defraud customers.

DCP (West) Amit Kumar said that the accused, identified as Kamlesh Chaudhary, Raju Jakhar, Madan Chaudhary and Vinod Jat, were found to be operating fake accounts on Instagram and Facebook, advertising body massage and escort services to lure victims. Police said that after spotting the advertisements, interested customers were redirected to WhatsApp and Telegram, where they were sent photos of women, price details, QR codes, and voice messages. Once payments were made, the victims were immediately blocked, and no services were provided. The gang also used forged documents, including fake govt certifications of spa centres, to convince customers of their legitimacy.

A list of WhatsApp chats and payment records was recovered during the operation. The police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Kumar said that Kamlesh, one of the accused, was also found to be working as a promoter for a telecom company. He exploited his position by collecting customer identity documents under the pretext of mobile number portability (MNP) and fraudulently activating duplicate SIM cards. One SIM was handed to the customer, while another was retained for cyber fraud activities. Kamlesh admitted to selling 149 fake SIM cards and using the company's Payment Bank accounts to deposit fraud proceeds. A letter has been issued to the company for detailed investigation into the misuse of its infrastructure. tnn