Shocking: Delhi fake cab app racket busted; 1,000 duped of Rs 250 crore

Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested a woman who was a director of a company that allegedly duped around 1,000 people of Rs 250 crore by inducing them to invest in their new cab aggregator project. The project called “Hello Taxi” never took off. Neither the money paid by investors nor the interest was returned, police said. The alleged company initially paid returns to some investors to win their confidence but stopped payments after collecting huge amounts and fled after closing their offices. The accused, Daisey Menon (47), the woman director of bogus company Hello Taxi, was arrested from Goa. Police had received a complaint against the company, SMP Impex, and its directors last year. “The directors of the accused company actively induced the victims to part with their money on the pretext of high returns by investing their funds into Hello Taxi company. The alleged company accepted bookings from the investors without taking approval from the concerned authorities like RBI/SEBI,” said OP Mishra, joint commissioner (EOW). The victims had invested money after being promised returns up to 200%. The company initially paid returns to some of their investors but stopped the payments after collecting huge money and fled away closing their offices. “The locations of the company also changed frequently to trap fresh victims. Initially, it started its operation from Ghaziabad, and after some months, it was shifted to Patparganj and then to Rohini,” Joint CP Mishra said. After conducting an exhaustive probe, the cops launched a crackdown. The bank statements of the company were scrutinised and over Rs 3.2 crore was frozen. Further, 60 new Hyundai Xcent cars worth Rs 3.5 crore purchased from the cheated amount were also seized.