A former Indian Army sniper, with a previous rape case against him, was arrested for allegedly duping a Delhi advocate of more than Rs 9 lakh in lieu of jobs for her and her family in the Army, the Delhi Police said Wednesday.

The police said they arrested the accused, Sumit Singh, 28, on March 30. According to the police, P Kohli, a 30-year-old woman advocate at the Tis Hazari Court, said in her complaint that she met Singh on the court premises on July 24 last year. Singh introduced himself as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army.

“After showing her his ID card, he informed her about a direct recruitment drive in the Indian Army’s AFT and asked for her contact number. He contacted her the next day,” Raja Banthia, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) said.

Singh then took Rs 64,540 from her to pay for what he claimed were mess expenses, the police said.

In August 2024, Singh also promised a job for Kohli’s brother as a clerk in the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) office, and took more than Rs 6 lakh to “bring officials and pay mess fees”. He then promised a government tender for Kohli’s father and took more than Rs. 3 lakh for the same, the police said.

The police said he proposed marriage to Kohli, and also made her give him an expensive smart phone. He also allegedly asked for Rs 80,000, saying his father had died, and he needed the money for his last rites.

By the end of the year, Kohli’s family gave Singh more than Rs 8 lakh, and they couldn’t contact him. “Sumit Singh cheated her and her family, promising jobs and marriage and took lakhs of rupees from the victim and her family. On March 22, Kohli filed a complaint and an FIR was registered,” said Banthia.