Gurgaon Delivery Executive Arrested for Defrauding Food Delivery Platform
A 30-year-old delivery executive was arrested on Monday in Gurgaon for allegedly engaging in a fraudulent scheme to cheat a major online food delivery platform. The accused, identified as Monu, a resident of Dani Varman Barwala in Hisar district who was living in Khandsa village, worked as a food delivery partner in Gurgaon for the past two years.
Details of the Fraudulent Operation
According to police reports, Monu is accused of convincing customers to cancel their orders on the food delivery app and then delivering the food offline at discounted prices for personal gain. This deceptive practice allowed him to bypass the company's official payment process, effectively siphoning off revenue that should have gone to the platform.
The cybercrime (east) police station in Gurgaon received a complaint from a representative of the food delivery company on August 20 last year. The complaint highlighted that some delivery partners were engaging in unfair practices, including asking customers to cancel orders on false pretexts and completing deliveries offline at reduced rates.
Modus Operandi and Company Investigation
Police revealed that the delivery executives involved in this scam would often cite reasons such as 'roadblock' or 'long distance' on the app to get orders cancelled just before delivery. This tactic helped them avoid any penalties from the company. While the order appeared as 'cancelled' in the company's account, in reality, the food had already been delivered offline, with the executive pocketing the discounted cash payment directly from the customer.
When these cancellations became frequent and discrepancies started reflecting in the company's financial accounts, it triggered an internal scrutiny. The company's investigation led to the filing of a formal complaint, resulting in the registration of an FIR under Section 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Ongoing Police Probe and Statements
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cybercrime) Priyanshu Diwan stated that further investigation is underway to ascertain whether more delivery partners were involved in this fraudulent act. The arrest of Monu marks a significant step in cracking down on such cyber-enabled financial crimes within the gig economy sector.
This case underscores the challenges faced by online platforms in monitoring and preventing internal fraud by delivery partners. It also highlights the increasing role of cybercrime units in addressing digital economy-related offenses in urban centers like Gurgaon.
