Cops says accused pretended to rent camera for an ad film for the famous 'Pirates' franchise; claimed he has Haemophilia and that he needed the money to buy meds
A 26-year-old Hemophilia patient spun tall yarns to pay the bills, going as far as claiming to be an animator with a renowned animation studio, to dupe freelancers and make away with their cameras, later selling them. The Vanrai police arrested Joy Samar Devnath in Delhi on Monday after he allegedly tricked a 23-year-old into 'renting' him his high-definition camera to make an ad film for the famous 'Pirates' franchise and then skipped town.
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Friendly thief
The police has recovered the lens from his person, but have learnt that he sold the camera in Kolkata. According to police sources, a few months ago, a common friend introduced Devnath to the victim, Tejal Shette, who works as an assistant cameraman for Marathi films. Shette also provides cameras - valued at Rs 5 lakh - on rent.
"In April this year, he took the camera for a shoot and did not return it. When I asked, he said the shoot got postponed, and then kept making various excuses to not return it.
Finally, I approached the police station and registered my complaint," Shette said.
Police says
"We have registered the case under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the IPC and arrested the accused from Delhi," adding, "We have recovered two camera lenses and a police team has been sent to Kolkata to recover the camera that he sold to someone there," said a police official from Vanrai police station.
The police added that Devnath admitted he had cheated several people in Delhi and Kolkata to pay for the treatment of his disease. He has been produced before the court and remanded to four-day police custody.