Inventing Mrinank Singh: The tale of cricketer-turned-conman, who duped Rishabh Pant and others

A cricketer-turned-conman has been arrested for allegedly duping several five-star hotels and resorts of lakhs of rupees. His victims also involved bars, young women as well as Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant, according to the Delhi Police. The 25-year-old accused, Mrinank Singh, was obsessed with living a luxurious lifestyle, which included staying at luxury hotels and partying with models, the police say. Not only did he pose as a successful cricketer to allegedly cheat some of his targets, but also pretended to be a senior police officer from Karnataka in some places. Let’s take a closer look at how Mrinank Singh allegedly swindled people and multiple five-star hotels and how he was finally caught. Cheated Rishabh Pant of crores According to the police, Mrinank Singh cheated India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant of Rs 1.6 crore in 2021. Singh, who played for the Haryana Under-19 team, knew Pant from a zonal cricket academy, reported ThePrint. He allegedly told the international cricketer that he could procure expensive watches for him at “reasonable rates”. Trusting him, Pant also gave him some jewellery and other luxury items that the accused claimed would sell for high prices, as per ThePrint report. In return, Singh gave a cheque (worth Rs 1.6 crore) to Pant, which bounced due to insufficient balance in the former’s account, the report added. No FIR was reportedly lodged by Pant. Duping luxury hotels Singh stayed at the Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi last year for nearly a week. According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Ravikant Kumar, the conman told the staff he had played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Mumbai Indians. “He stayed there for almost a week (in July 2022) and his bill was around Rs 5.6 lakh. He left the hotel saying his sponsor, Adidas, would foot the bill. However, the bank account numbers and card details provided by him turned out to be fake,” Kumar was quoted as saying by Indian Express. A complaint was filed by the director of security of the Taj Palace Hotel at the Chanakyapuri police station on 22 August last year.

The police and the hotel manager contacted Singh and his manager who assured them that they would send their driver with the cash but never fulfilled the promise, reported Indian Express. On the basis of the hotel’s complaint, a cheating case was filed and a notice under section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was dispatched to Mrinank Singh’s address but he was not found there. Singh’s father told the police that the family had disowned the former cricketer. ALSO READ: How Indian-American stole $22 million from US football team for life of luxury Posing as senior Karnataka cop Singh also pretended to be Karnataka Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Alok Kumar or even a brand ambassador for international brands at times to pull his con. When he was finally detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by immigration officials while trying to fly to Hong Kong on Monday (25 December), he tried to “influence” immigration officials by claiming to be the son of Karnataka ADGP Alok Kumar and by “pretending to call senior police officers”, The Hindu reported citing Delhi Police’s Ravikant Kumar. The police said the analysis of his phone and prima facie probe showed he had several victims. “His victims include hotels, bars, restaurants, young girls, cab drivers, small eating outlets among others. Initial analysis of his mobile phone has also revealed his acquaintance with young female models, and it contains multiple videos and photographs, some of them highly objectionable,” a police source told ThePrint.

The Delhi Police arrested Singh after he was detained at the airport. During interrogation, he allegedly tried to mislead the cops by claiming his father, Ashok Kumar Singh, had played for the Indian cricket team in the 1980s and 1990s and is now working with Air India as a manager. Additional DCP Kant said that Singh kept “changing his locations” and used only “social media apps for calls.” “He even made his acquaintances believe that he is not in India and is now settled in Dubai,” the senior police officer added. This was not Singh’s first encounter with the police. He was arrested for allegedly cheating a Jalandhar-based businessman of Rs 5.75 lakh in August this year, but secured bail later, reported ThePrint. The accused, a resident of Faridabad, is a Commerce graduate from Delhi University’s Hindu College. He completed an MBA in Human Resources from OPJS University in Rajasthan, according to the police. Singh claimed that he played in the 2021 Ranji Trophy and the IPL from 2014 to 2018 with Mumbai Indians. The police say they are verifying all his claims. With inputs from agencies