Bengaluru: What initially appeared to be routine order cancellations at a Flipkart delivery hub in north Bengaluru has now unravelled into an alleged fraud involving four delivery executives accused of swapping expensive products with fake items and pocketing the originals worth over Rs 4.2 lakh.The alleged fraud took place at Flipkart’s delivery office in Varadaraju Layout in Amruthahally between Feb 1 and April 30. Based on a complaint filed by the company’s enforcement officer MS Sardar, police have registered a case against four delivery boys — Nitin Murthy, Vishnu, Girish and Akash.According to the complaint, the accused exploited the delivery and return system by placing orders for costly products such as mobile phones, earbuds, branded clothes and shoes, either in their own names or through acquaintances. After collecting the parcels from the delivery office on the pretext of making deliveries, they allegedly removed the original products and replaced them with fake or low-value items.The accused then allegedly resealed the packages and returned them to the office, claiming that the orders were cancelled because customers were unavailable at the delivery locations.The fraud is said to have gone undetected for nearly three months until repeated cancellations involving high-value products raised suspicion among company officials. Police said the returned parcels from the Amruthahally hub were routinely sent to Flipkart’s mother hub in Malur in Kolar district, where officials noticed fake products repeatedly turning up in returned consignments.An internal inquiry later uncovered the alleged racket, revealing that nearly 40 products were fraudulently swapped. The company estimated its loss at Rs 4.2 lakh.A senior police officer said Vishnu was believed to be the main accused and placed most of the orders. “Their biggest mistake was placing orders in their own names and addresses,” the officer said.Police said Vishnu, Murthy and Akash quit their jobs after the company initiated an internal probe, while Girish continued to work and admitted involvement in 4-5 fraudulent orders. All four were outsourced employees hired through a vendor attached to the company.One person has been detained while efforts are on to trace the delivery executives, police added.
