Mohali police bust fake call centre

The police have arrested eight persons, including a woman, for operating an illegal call centre from an apartment in Sector 91 here. They have allegedly duped their victims of about Rs 30 crore over the past six months.

Following multiple complaints, the Cyber Crime Police Station conducted a raid on the fifth-floor apartment in the Acme Eden Court society early morning. The police arrested the suspects who hail from Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Odisha and other states.

According to the police, the suspects used to send bulk messages, claiming that the recipients were involved in crypto currency transactions linked to criminal activity the amount would be deducted from their accounts.

Also, the suspects offered incentives such as gift vouchers and token money, tricking people into revealing their personal and financial details. The call centre had reportedly been operational for the past six months.

Those arrested include Abhishek Pandey (Mumbai), Akshay Kumar (J&K), Pradeep Das (Arunachal Pradesh), Amit Tewari (West Bengal), Mukul Singh (Kangra) and Kolkata residents Shaan Sakeen, Arfique Sadique and Arpita Sarbabidya, all aged between 25 and 30. The police said they received monthly salaries in cash. The local handler, who is yet to be arrested, had gifted an SUV to the main operator.

Addressing mediapersons, DSP Rupinderdeep Kaur Sohi said, “During preliminary investigation, it came to light that there is a parallel call centre running in a foreign country, which used to share the lists of prospective victims. On an average, they used to dupe people of Rs 5 crore per month. Seven-eight people worked at the centre from 9 pm to 2 am.”

A case has been registered under the IT Act and Sections 318(4) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Cyber Crime Police Station.