Manoj Arora was apprehended at Kirti Nagar recently following investigations into a complaint filed by one Rajinder, who claimed he and his two friends were cheated of Rs 15.85 lakh, DCP (South) Chhaya Sharma said.
Arora, who moved to Delhi from Kolkata in 1967, had joined an NGO and was its treasurer.
"The NGO has very senior political leaders as its patrons. Arora started using these senior politicians' names to cheat people on the pretext of getting their wards admitted in reputed schools," Sharma said.
The complainant had told police he met Arora through a friend. Arora promised him that he can get admissions of their children in prestigious schools under management quota.
"Rajinder and his friends Pawan Sabharwal and Gaurav Seth paid a sum of Rs 6.6 lakh, Rs 5.25 lakh and Rs 4 lakh respectively for the admission of their wards in a reputed school in R K Puram. Despite repeated reminders, their wards did not get admission. He also did not return the money. When they approached him, they were threatened," Sharma said.
During interrogation, she said, Arora told police that he faced losses in his family business and came in contact with the Aligarh-based NGO.
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"To impress the victims, he got the visiting card of Member National Steel Consumer Council having Ashoka Emblem. He has no regular source of income but owns luxury cars such as BMW and Ford Endeavour and Honda Civic fitted with red bacons and stickers of VIP Parkings, Parking of President House and All India Crime Reforms Society.
"All the vehicles have VIP registration numbers. The accused used to boast of his high connections, show off his vehicles and often refer to them during his conversation with the victims. The accused has taken different amounts of money ranging from Rs three lakh to Rs 29 lakh for admission to different reputed schools," Sharma said.
He has allegedly also got installed CCTV cameras at his home to keep record and check on the visitors, so that he can choose the persons he wanted to meet, the DCP said.