Bangur Nagar police have arrested a 24-year-old Gurugram man for allegedly defrauding a Mumbai management student of Rs 24.6 lakh by posing as an institute counsellor and threatening that the student would be debarred from his course, according to police. Investigators said the accused obtained the student’s phone number from a call-centre database linked to the institute.
The accused, identified as Alok K, had previously worked at a call centre contracted by the management institute to coordinate admissions and counselling, police said. He allegedly used that access to contact the 21-year-old student, who had enrolled in a distance-learning MBA programme in finance in January 2026.
The student had paid an annual fee of Rs 1.12 lakh and was assigned a seat by the institute. After meeting him at a cafe in Juhu, Alok allegedly helped him complete admission formalities and built a relationship of trust, according to the report.
In June, while the student was taking an online examination, an alert appeared on his device stating that copying had been detected. The application later crashed on the last day of the examination. The student contacted Alok, who allegedly warned him that he would be debarred, blacklisted and prevented from securing admission to another university.
Police said Alok offered to resolve the supposed examination issue and promised to return the money if he could not do so. The student allegedly transferred Rs 24.6 lakh to him in instalments. Alok refunded Rs 1.15 lakh, but continued demanding money even after the student passed the examination, police said.
The student realised that he had allegedly been deceived, informed his parents and approached Bangur Nagar police earlier this month. The case illustrates how a fraudster with prior access to an institution’s contact database allegedly used personal information and knowledge of admission processes to make a fabricated warning appear credible.
Police surveilled the accused’s phone records and traced the money trail before locating him in Gurugram. He was arrested on September 11, and investigators seized two mobile phones, according to the report. Police said Alok told them he had been inspired by the antagonist in the OTT show ‘Pritam and Pedro’ and had planned to use social engineering, impersonation and attempts to erase his digital footprint.
The case also places attention on the safeguards used by educational institutions and outsourced call centres when handling student data. The report does not state whether the institute’s database systems were breached or whether the accused retained authorised access after leaving the call centre. Those aspects remain part of the investigation.
Bangur Nagar police are continuing their investigation into the alleged fraud, the money trail and the use of the seized phones.
