"Once his victims were taken in by his promises, Praveen used to cheat them out of money with the help of his associates," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav said. Accused Praveen Kumar Singh of Ballia in Uttar Pradesh was arrested on May 28 from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on a tip-off. In 2014, he repeated the offence by cheating 10 other unemployed persons of Ballia of Rs 25 lakh on the pretext of providing jobs in Indian Railways," the officer said. "Several local leaders of different political parties were on his payroll and their role is being probed," the officer said. Investigators said Singh was absconding for the last five years and kept changing his addresses and mobile phone numbers to avoid arrest.

Source: Mid-Day June 12, 2016 13:18 UTC