By HT Correspondent, Agra — Updated on Dec 02, 2024 10:09 PM IST Hindustan Times
Five members of an international gang involved in cyber frauds were arrested by Agra Police from Delhi on Monday. Hindustan Times
According to police, the accused used to operate through a WhatsApp group where they would get people to download an application by providing third-party links and then lure them into investment schemes in the name of IPOs to extract money. Hindustan Times
Police said these accused, along with associates in foreign nations, would provide account details of Indian corporate accounts and SIM cards for people who were lured into stock investment trading and task jobs. Hindustan Times
The arrested persons are:
- Prem Saud aka Prem Bahadur Saud from Nepal, residing in Amar Colony, Delhi
- Ravi Kumar Suryavanshi from Rohini, Delhi
- Akbar aka Allauddin from Muzaffarpur, Bihar
- Imran from Ghaziabad
- Athani from Farrukhabad Hindustan Times
They were booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2), 3/5 and Section 66D of the IT Act, police said. Hindustan Times
DCP (Agra City) Suraj Rai said that on October 4, an Agra resident filed a complaint alleging that he was invited to a new WhatsApp group where he was encouraged to invest in IPOs. Hindustan Times
Since the app in question was not available on the Google Play Store, the complainant was given a third-party download link. After completing KYC and logging in, he was then asked to deposit ₹18.5 lakh into different bank accounts. Hindustan Times
When he tried to withdraw his funds later, he found he could not do so and realized he had fallen victim to cyber fraud. He was eventually removed from the WhatsApp group when he sought his money back, prompting him to file a complaint with the Agra cyber police. Hindustan Times
Police seized the mobiles and laptops of the accused. On interrogation, it emerged that these five had been in contact with people engaged in cyber fraud in Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Hindustan Times
The investigating cyber police team found 85 lakh bank account numbers when they ran the numbers obtained from the suspects through the cyber crime reporting portal. The Agra complainant recovered ₹13 lakh after a court order, out of the ₹18.5 lakh that was duped from him.