Delhi Man Posed As Casting Director, Duped Models By Promising Work: Police

A 43-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly duping several aspiring models on the pretext of providing them work by posing as a casting director, the police said.

Gaurav Khanna, a resident of Delhi's Malviya Nagar, used Instagram to target the models, a police official said, adding that profile sheets and details of 15 struggling models and three mobile phones have been seized from him.

"An aspiring model complained at Kirti Nagar police station that a fake casting director was cheating struggling models on the pretext of providing them photoshoot and event assignments," Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vichitra Veer said.

The complainant told police that she was contacted by Khanna on Instagram, where he allegedly introduced himself as a casting director of a production house named "ANG Productions", the DCP said.

"Khanna gave her a portfolio offer and asked her to make a payment of Rs 20,000. Subsequently, he proposed upcoming selections for a lehenga and jewellery shoot with a reputed company and asked her to pay another Rs 75,000," the officer said.

According to the officer, the model paid Rs 10,000 to Khanna. Later, when she asked the company about the production house and their shoot dates in Delhi, she found out that there was no shoot planned in the city.

The model later visited the office of ANG Production, where she found out that Khanna had vacated the premises.

Following an investigation, the police arrested Gaurav Khanna from his Malviya Nagar residence.

During interrogation, the accused told the police that he had worked at a production house for three years. But his salary was very low. He opened a modelling agency and cheated aspiring models on the pretext of providing them work, the DCP added.

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