Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 10 (ANI): The Ghaziabad Crime Branch arrested seven individuals in connection with a nationwide cyber fraud scheme, swindling over Rs 60 lakh from victims using fraudulent motor insurance policies.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Balwant Chaudhary on Friday said the primary accused, Deepak Khanna, along with Rahul and Neeraj Bhati, hatched a conspiracy to establish a fake call centre to extract large sums of money from citizens under the guise of issuing legitimate insurance policies.
The gang set up the fraudulent call centre and created online advertisements on Google Ads in the name of a prominent insurance company using forged email accounts.
As per DCP, unsuspecting citizens routinely made inquiries through these advertisements, which promoted affordable and attractive insurance policies. When individuals clicked on the links to inquire, the fraudsters lured them with false promises and fake policy documents.
The accused have so far duped people across several states, including Kerala, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and the Delhi-NCR region. Police confirmed that more than 20 formal complaints have been registered against the gang on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
Acting on a specific tip-off, the police laid a trap and arrested the seven accused. Authorities recovered multiple mobile phones, ATM and debit cards, chequebooks, bank passbooks from various financial institutions, and cash during the operation.
The main ringleader of the operation, Deepak Kumar, a resident of Ghaziabad, remains absconding. Police teams have been deployed to trace his whereabouts, and officials stated that he is expected to be apprehended shortly.
Further details are awaited.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a wanted accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl was killed in a police encounter in Bulandshahr after two motorcycle-borne suspects allegedly opened fire at a police team during a checking operation on August 9.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dinesh Kumar Singh said that two officers sustained injuries and two others were hit by bullets on their bulletproof jackets.
“A police encounter took place involving two motorcycle-borne miscreants. When the police signalled them to stop for a check, the miscreants–realising they were being cornered–opened fire directly at the police. One Sub-Inspector of the SWAT team and a Constable sustained injuries, while bullets struck the bulletproof jackets worn by two other officers. Assessing the situation, the police immediately returned fire in self-defence. One miscreant was critically injured in the police firing, while the other managed to escape,” he said. (ANI)
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