CHENNAI: Thiru Vi Ka Nagar police arrested a 17-year-old boy for allegedly duping another minor girl and usurping Rs 75,000 cash and five sovereign gold on the pretext of seeking help to pay his mother’s hospital bills.

While examining his mobile phone, the police found that he conned three more girls using the same modus operandi. He gets acquainted with teenagers through Instagram and after gaining the confidence of his ‘friends’, he persuades them to share money, police said.

The minor had threatened to harm her when she refused to part with more money. The police arrested him and lodged him in the government observation home for boys.