When the cards were not activated even after three days of purchase, the employees had lodged a complaint with the police. A sub inspector from Vile Parle police station arrested the duo after he got a tip off on their whereabouts from an informer who saw the girl’s pictures on television last week.

According to the Vile Parle police, Nikita Kishor Sawant alias Simran, 18, and Satish Suresh Chaurasia alias Sunny, 19, have confessed to their crime and are now handed over to Worli police where the case was registered.

The duo, residents of Shelar Chawl in Andheri (E), was arrested on Friday afternoon. Sawant and Chaurasia had posed as representatives of a mobile service provider in the Charity commissioner's office on February 14.

“The accused told the employees that the company they represent had come up with cheap call rates exclusively for organisations like theirs. The duo told that the employees could call on any five numbers of their choice absolutely free and would be charged only 10 paise per minute for making mobile to mobile calls,” said senior inspector of police Bharat Worlikar of Worli police station.

According to Worlikar, they were offered to make STD calls at as less as 50 paise per minute. They managed to sell 65 cards to 45 employees at the charity commissioner's office.

“The two had collected Rs 1,500 for each prepaid connection and had also told the customers that they would get talktime worth Rs 1,000 free and the balance would be refunded when they cancel the connection. In two days they collected Rs 97,800 from the employees,” Worlikar said.

After Sawant's picture appeared in print and on television, a police informer who spotted Sawant in Andheri called up a sub inspector at Vile Parle official and informed him about Sawant’s whereabouts. “One of my informers told me that Sawant and Chaurasia were to come to Vile Parle on Friday. We laid a trap accordingly and arrested the duo,” said sub inspector Govind Desai of Vile Parle police station.

According to Desai, Sawant who is a Standard 12 dropout stayed with her parents while Chaurasia stayed with his two younger brothers, an elder sister and parents in the same locality.