Police bust fake loan & insurance call centre

Under Operation Cyber Shield, the police have dismantled a fake loan and insurance call centre in Sriganganagar, arresting six people, including four women. The raid, which took place at a house in Sant Kirpal Nagar, led to the apprehension of several individuals involved in the scam. The mastermind behind the operation, a woman from Bihar, has been living in Sriganganagar for the last five years.

Prithvipal Singh, In-charge of Kotwali Police Station, stated that records seized during the raid suggested a fraud and forgery amounting to approximately Rs 1.25 crore. The arrested individuals include Naresh Shakya (32), Reshma Khatoon (33), Anuradha alias Khushboo (30), Lovepreet Preet (19), Anu Rajput (21) and Gagandeep Mintu (22). A case has been registered under sections 318(4), 61(2) (B) of the Indian Penal Code and section 66-C of the IT Act.

According to police reports, Reshma Khatoon, the mastermind of the call centre, is originally from Bihar and had settled in Sriganganagar following the death of her husband. In 2019, she met Naresh Shakya, and the two launched a fraudulent page on Facebook under the name “Shriram Finserv,” which closely resembled the official name of the legitimate Shriram Finance Private Limited. Through this page, they enticed people with promises of loans and insurance policies. Anuradha, Anu, and Lovepreet were recruited to work in the scam. Gagandeep Mintu’s bank account was used to receive the defrauded funds, with his account in IDBI Bank being used to funnel the money.

During the raid, authorities recovered several items, including five keypad mobile phones, eight android mobile phones, one HP laptop, three keyboards, two LED screens, one CPU, and 34 registers that contained records of the fraudulent activities.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang used to convince victims to deposit amounts ranging from Rs 650 to Rs 850 as “processing fees” for loan approvals. Similarly, they would ask for an almost identical sum for insurance. However, victims never received the loans or insurance policies promised, and when they attempted to retrieve their money, they were informed that the processing fee was non-refundable.

The bust came after a complaint was filed on the cyber portal by an individual who had been duped of Rs 650. He had been lured into the scam with promises of getting a loan. The state’s cybercrime wing forwarded the complaint to the Sriganganagar police, leading to the successful raid and arrests.