Two More Accused Arrested From Gujarat And Punjab

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): City crime branch arrested two more accused, one from Gujarat and one from Punjab, in connection with the online fraud of Rs 1.60 crore with a woman by holding her ‘digitally arrested’, police said on Thursday. So far, 19 accused have been arrested from different states in this case.  

DCP (crime) Rajesh Tripathi said that a 59-year-old woman was duped of Rs 1.60 crore lst year in November. The online scammers had contacted her through Skype and WhatsApp video calls, posed as officers from CBI, RBI and police and threatened her with jail in a fake money-laundering case. Scared by the accused, the woman provided her details, bank information, and transferred money from her bank accounts, FD and shares to the bank accounts provided by the conmen. She was on camera surveillance for three days from November 9 to 12 November 2024.

The crime branch registered a case under sections 318(4), 308(2), 316(5), 111(4), 3(5) of the BNS and a special team was formed to trace the network running this digital arrest scam. During the investigation, the crime branch team found that the gang targeted single women and men between 40 and 70 years of age by checking their profiles on social media and dating apps.

 Police also found that this gang brought people from rural areas by offering them jobs and later involved them in cybercrime by luring them with money. More than 350 SIM cards were taken in the names of different villagers and supplied to the gang. The accused had allegedly admitted that several SIM cards were sent to Laos (Southeast Asian country).

In the latest action, the crime branch arrested Saurabh Singh from Vapi, Gujarat and Pattras Kumar alias Kelis from Firozpur City, Punjab. During preliminary questioning, Pattras allegedly informed the police that he arranged SIM cards for the gang. He was caught at Amritsar airport. Saurabh Singh, who has a hotel management degree, was arrested from Vapi. Both accused revealed that they had stayed in Laos and were involved in cheating people from different countries. Police are now questioning them further under police remand to uncover more links.

Cyber advisory

Crime branch also issued a cyber advisory for citizens. People are warned not to trust video or voice calls from unknown persons claiming to be officers of CBI, RBI or police.

No government agency conducts inquiries or arrests through video calls. People are advised not to share personal details like OTPs, bank account details or credit card numbers with anyone.

For cyber awareness, people are encouraged to use Indore Police’s Safe Clicks AI-based chatbot available on the website safeclicks.in or contact 7049108197. If anyone becomes a victim of online fraud, they should immediately report it to 1930/NCRP portal or call Indore Cyber Helpline at 7049124445.