A former cricketer, aged 25, who resorted to deception and claimed to be an IPS officer from Karnataka to enjoy luxurious accommodations at hotels like the Taj Palace, has been caught and detained at Delhi Airport for allegedly conning renowned Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant out of over Rs 1.63 crore. The suspect, known as Mrinank Singh and hailing from Faridabad in Haryana, used to play for Haryana’s under-19 cricket team.
Ravi Kant Kumar, the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police New Delhi, stated that a complaint was lodged on August 22 of the previous year by the Taj Palace Hotel. The complaint involved a man named Mrinank Singh, who claimed to be a cricketer and stayed at the hotel for a week. However, he departed without settling his bill of Rs 553,000. Despite being asked by the hotel staff to make payment, he claimed that his company, Adidas, would take care of it. Repeated attempts were made to collect the outstanding amount from him, but he consistently made false statements and promises while providing incorrect information.
After receiving a complaint from the hotel, a cheating case was registered and an investigation was initiated. As part of the investigation, a notification was sent to Mrinank Singh under section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) at his reported address. However, he was not located there. The court then issued a non-bailable warrant and a lookout circular to prevent him from leaving the country or secretly moving out of India. On December 25, Mrinank Singh was apprehended at Delhi Airport while attempting to board a flight to Hong Kong.
As per the official, while being held at Delhi Airport, the swindler once again tried to manipulate immigration officials by feigning phone calls to law enforcement officers, pretending to be Alok Kumar IPS, ADGP Karnataka. However, the authorities were already familiar with his previous scams at this stage. Upon questioning, the suspect confessed to cheating numerous high-end resorts and hotels out of large sums of money by impersonating the ADGP of Karnataka and even a professional cricket player on various occasions to convince them to allow him to stay for multiple days without paying his bills, promising that he would settle the payment at a later time.
Based on the initial inquiry of his cell phone, it has been discovered that he has defrauded and impersonated numerous individuals, resulting in a substantial sum of money being stolen. The victims of his deceitful actions include various establishments such as hotels, bars, and restaurants, as well as young women, taxi drivers, and small eateries. One of the victims of his scam was cricketer Rishabh Pant, who was duped out of Rs 1.63 crore in the year 2020-2021. A preliminary examination of his phone also revealed his association with young female models and contained multiple disturbing videos and pictures. Investigation is still going on.
