Cyber gang busted, 11 held for Rs 88 lakh fraud

Claiming to have busted a gang of cyber criminals, the police arrested 11 persons in connection with a case of digital arrest involving online siphoning of Rs 88 lakh. Wanted in as many 101 cases across the country, the gang was found to be involved in amassing around Rs 70 crore.

DSP Vishal Kumar said the arrest came up in a case that took place in October in which the members of the gang defrauded a local resident through digital arrest for 72 hours on October 19. He said a team led by Inspector Naveen Kumar nabbed the accused identified as Ashwani alias Lucky, Sonu Kumar Paswan, Rajat Verma, Utkarsh, Avish, Neeraj Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Shivaji Mourya, Manoj, Sachin Upadhyay and Yash Dubey from various parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh recently after the launch of an investigation into the complaint lodged on October 23. The complainant, Anil Kumar, a resident of New Colony, told the police that he received a call on October 19 from a person claiming to be a CBI officer, who told him that he may be arrested in a case of money laundering registered against him.

According to the complaint, he was made a victim of digital arrest during which he was made to transfer money into unknown accounts on the pretext of investigation and to escape legal proceedings. “The accused are reported to be wanted in around 101 cases registered in various parts of the country involving a fraud of Rs 70 crore,” said the police official.

Issuing an appeal to the residents not to fall prey to any kind of temptation or deception made through calls, he said victims should register their complaint on the national helpline no. 1930.

The breakthrough came recently when the police reached the hideouts and arrested them, said the DSP