Ludhiana native arrested for Telegram-based scheme fraud

The cybercrime cell has arrested the third accused in a Telegram-based scam in which a city resident was duped of over Rs 9 lakh.

The accused, identified as Neeraj Pandey, 25, a resident of Ludhiana, was apprehended during a police raid in Ludhiana on Thursday.

The arrest relates to a case registered on August 4 following a complaint by Chandigarh resident Gurvinder Pal Kaur. She stated that she was cheated through a false “work-from-home” scheme run on Telegram, a messaging application. The fraudsters initially paid small commissions to win her confidence before persuading her to deposit a total of Rs 9,03,011 on the pretext of unlocking a frozen account.

During the investigation, the police traced digital evidence and bank transactions to an Indian Bank account and a mobile number registered in the suspect’s name. Technical analysis further revealed that other accused in the case were operating their Telegram identification documents (IDs) from IP addresses traced to Cambodia, suggesting international cybercrime involvement.

On October 28, the police had arrested Shivam (21) and Pramod Kumar (24), both residents of Giaspura, Ludhiana in the case.