Delhi: Man outsources duping to a software, fleeces thousands

Police said Sanjay Kumar allegedly did this by developing his own software over six months, which was intelligent enough to analyse keywords on a live call and provide answers accordingly.

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Sanjay allegedly hosted a website under the name http://www.reliancejiotower.net, which has no connection with the Reliance company, offering mobile tower services.

A 28-year-old former software developer has been arrested for allegedly duping more than a thousand people across the country of several crores by promising to install mobile phone towers in their villages.

Police said Sanjay Kumar allegedly did this by developing his own software over six months, which was intelligent enough to analyse keywords on a live call and provide answers accordingly.

Police sources claimed Sanjay was also in the process of bagging two high-profile projects. “He was developing a programme for the Delhi Police to make sure anyone who makes a PCR call to 100 just has to give his pincode and the software would direct the caller to the police station concerned. The other project was a marketing-based software,” said a police officer.

Police said Sanjay allegedly duped people to start his own cloud telephony company, which required an investment of Rs 40 lakh. Through cloud telephony, Sanjay could bypass the traditional telephone network and host his services over the internet.

Sanjay allegedly hosted a website under the name http://www.reliancejiotower.net, which has no connection with the Reliance company, offering mobile tower services.

He hosted several virtual phone numbers (which do not require a telephone line to function) over the internet, police said. All calls made by people would be forwarded to the accused, who patiently listened as his software answered their queries.

“All answers were pre-recorded by a local voice-over artist paid by Sanjay. The accused thought of all possible queries that people can have and recorded the answers that were fed into the software,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse.

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Sanjay never answered any phone call, police said, adding, “He thoroughly researched voice-operated phone call scams and found that setting up a call centre to dupe people was inefficient.”

Police said that while he operated alone, he allegedly took help from two men, Santosh Kumar and Arjun Prasad, to open bank accounts under their names and target labourers working in Delhi-NCR.

Anand Mohan J

Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy. Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free. Expertise and Reporting Beats Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors: National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres. Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA). Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking. Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers. Professional Background Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017. Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh. Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs. Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife. Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance. Digital & Professional Presence Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More