Mumbai Police busts illegal Bihar-based call center; six held
What's the story
The Mumbai Police has busted a Bihar-based illegal call center whose operators duped people in the name of coronavirus, and arrested five persons, including a BTech graduate, and also detained a minor who was part of the racket, an official said on Tuesday.
"The cyber cell of the Mumbai Police's crime branch unearthed the racket during an investigation into a complaint," he said.
Cheating
Accused suspected to have cheated 210 people across India
The complaint was lodged by a Mumbai resident who was cheated by the accused, said the official.
Those apprehended were allegedly running the fake call center and duping people by using the deadly COVID-19 pandemic as bait, he added.
The accused are suspected to have cheated at least 210 people across the country till now," the official further said.
Arrest
The sixth accomplice was a minor who has been detained
According to the official, the arrested accused were identified as Dharmajay Kumar, Dhananjay Kumar, Shrawan Paswan, Nitish Kumar, and Suman Kumar, while their sixth accomplice was a minor (age not disclosed) who has been detained.
"Of them, one was a BTech graduate, while one had BEd degree," he said.
The police also traced 32 bank accounts of the gang.
Modus operandi
Phone numbers were circulated on social media to lure people
Transactions worth Rs. 60 lakh had taken place in the gang's 32 bank accounts, and the police had also seized 100 SIM cards procured from Kolkata.
Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, the official said that its members circulate their phone numbers on different social media platforms to lure unsuspecting people.
Quote
A Mumbai man was duped by gang while ordering Remdesivir
"On June 16, the Cyber Police Station at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai received a complaint where a man was duped while ordering online Remdesivir, an antiviral drug used to treat severe COVID-19 patients," the official said.
Benefit
Accused used people's fear, crisis for their own monetary benefit
"During the investigation, the crime branch found the racket was linked to a call center in Bihar Sharif, the headquarters of Nalanda district in Bihar," the official said.
These people had been involved in duping people for over a year and used people's fear as well as a crisis for their own monetary benefit, he added.