The police said the accused placed advertisements on education websites and offered huge discounts on expensive books to target retailers.
A group of people have allegedly cheated book retailers across the country by posing as NCERT book wholesalers and selling them fake copies of textbooks worth lakhs. A case has been registered with the Delhi Police Crime Branch against the conmen who operated from Rohini in north-west Delhi, according to an Indian Express report.
As per the report, no arrest has been made so far and the Police have received two complaints. A Namakkal-based bookseller had approached the Delhi Police to file a complaint in which he claimed that he was cheated of over Rs 25 lakh.
The police explained the modus operandi of the accused and said they operate from Rohini, Delhi. The conmen placed advertisements on education websites and offered heavy discounts on expensive books to trap retailers.
The complainant alleged he found a bookseller from Delhi on a website through ads. He then came to Delhi to place an order by scanning a QR code. The code was allegedly forged by the accused along with the order details and the order made for books worth Rs 20-21 lakh, never arrived.
“I have been purchasing and selling books since 2012. When the books didn’t arrive, I called the seller in Delhi. First, he ignored my calls and then sent duplicate/fake copies of NCERT books. None of them were printed books, only photocopies. I again approached them and threatened to file a complaint. They returned Rs 4 lakh and blocked me,” the complainant said, as per the Indian Express report.
The Police confirmed that the dispatch bills, the QR code, and other details were fake and the money was transferred to different accounts.
The police have registered a case of criminal breach of trust, cheating, and criminal conspiracy against the accused.
A senior police official said that the accused have been operating for a long time and now they have started cheating people from across states through online ads, websites or by distributing fake books through the marketplace.
“We have received a few complaints from vendors and sellers who lost money worth lakhs of rupees,” the official said.
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