New Delhi: Delhi Police has arrested two men, including a physiotherapist, for allegedly posing as adoption facilitators and conning people out of money with false promises of arranging babies.The racket was unearthed after Archana (30), a resident of Burari, lodged a complaint on National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal that she had been cheated of Rs 1.4 lakh.The woman was searching online for child adoption services when she came across a mobile number last year. The caller, who identified himself as Sachin Agrawal, claimed to represent an organisation facilitating legal adoptions and promised to arrange a baby boy for her, according to the complaint.A few days later, he said a baby was available and that the expected delivery date was Nov 3, 2025. Trusting his assurances, she was made to transfer the money in instalments under various heads, including registration and booking.To make the process appear genuine, Agarwal allegedly sent forged NGO receipts, fake ultrasound reports and other fabricated documents to Archana. When she sought to meet the biological mother, he refused, citing the organisation’s policy.On the day the baby was to be handed over, Agarwal demanded another round of payment as transportation charges. However, after receiving the money, he stopped responding to her calls, prompting Archana to approach police.Investigators analysed call detail records of nearly 100 mobile numbers and IMEIs, traced the money trail through multiple bank accounts, and conducted several raids even as the suspects kept changing their locations to evade arrest, DCP (north) Raja Banthia said.“Continuous surveillance of the suspects’ mobile numbers eventually led the team to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, where Agrawal (46) and physiotherapist Rakesh Kumar, alias Dr R K (52), were apprehended,” the DCP said.Cops said the two had been running the racket for the past nine months. They would give their mobile number on online platforms, falsely claiming they could facilitate legal child adoption through multiple organisations. Once the final payment was received, the duo used to switch off their phones and disappear. The mobile number used to contact their targets and the bank account used to receive the cheated money were registered in Agrawal’s name. Kumar prepared the forged documents, Agarwal claimed.Police seized two mobile phones, five SIM cards, a bank passbook, six debit cards, two PAN cards and seals of some hospitals and doctors. These are being analysed to identify more victims and uncover other cyber frauds linked to this one.
