Mumbai: After sending RTO e-challan, Mahanagar Gas Limited and banking apps related malicious APK files, the police have learnt that scammers are now sending APK file masked with the name and logo of IRCTC inducing unsuspecting victims to download the said app and using the same to access mobile phone of the victims and siphon money from their bank accounts. A 68-year-old Mira Road resident recently fell prey to this fraud.

According to the police, on May 03, the victim had tried booking an online railway ticket, but while the money got debited from his credit card, the ticket hadn’t got booked. The victim then surfed online and came across a fraudulent customer care number of IRCTC. The victim contacted the number and the person who answered the call posed as a customer care executive and pretended to help the victim in getting a refund of his debited money.

The scammer then sent an APK file masked with the name and logo of IRCTC to the victim and asked him to download and install the said app on his phone. Trusting the caller, the victim downloaded and installed the said APK file on his phone. The scammer then got access to the victim’s phone and once the scammer got credentials of the victim’s bank account details, he managed to make fraudulent transactions of Rs 6.07 lakh.

The victim then raised a complaint on the cyber-crime helpline and got an offence lodged in the matter. A case has been registered by the police under section 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 66C (identity theft), 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act in the matter.To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/

The IRCTC on its website has clearly stated that IRCTC does not share any unsolicited links, APKs, SMS or WhatsApp messages for installing the IRCTC Rail Connect Ticketing App and asked the citizens to download official app only from trusted platforms.

Chandigarh, June 5: A Special CBI Court in Mohali, Punjab, has convicted and sentenced Samir Dua, a partner of M/s G.D. Ispat Udyog, Mandi Gobindgarh, to three years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) along with a fine of Rs 15,000 in connection with a multi-crore bank fraud case, an official statement said on Friday.

The sentence was pronounced on June 4, following the conclusion of trial proceedings in the case investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

According to the CBI, the case was registered against Dalip Dua and Samir Dua, partners of M/s G.D. Ispat Udyog, along with other accused, for allegedly entering into a criminal conspiracy to defraud Indian Overseas Bank’s Mandi Gobindgarh branch in Punjab.

The investigation revealed that the accused had fraudulently secured a cash credit limit of Rs 4 crore from the bank by submitting false and fabricated information and documents.

The loan facility was allegedly obtained through misrepresentation, causing a wrongful loss to the bank and corresponding unlawful gain to the accused, the agency said.

Following a detailed investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet against the accused persons before the competent court. During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence establishing the fraudulent nature of the transactions and the conspiracy behind obtaining the credit facility.

After examining the evidence and hearing the arguments, the Special CBI Court found Samir Dua guilty and sentenced him to three years of rigorous imprisonment. The court also imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 15,000.

Proceedings against co-accused Dalip Dua were abated due to his death during the pendency of the case.

The conviction marks the culmination of the CBI’s investigation into the bank fraud, underscoring the agency’s efforts to prosecute financial crimes and hold those responsible for defrauding public sector banks accountable.

Gorakhpur, June 4: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized 406 kg of ‘ganja’ (contraband substance) in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur and arrested four accused who were taking the contraband to Deoria from Tezpur in Assam, an official said on Thursday.

The NCB Gorakhpur Zone, in coordination with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), achieved the breakthrough when they arrested two persons on Wednesday, a statement said.

Acting on specific intelligence, NCB Gorakhpur intercepted a pickup van on the Salempur–Lal Bazar Main Road in Deoria and seized 202 kg of ganja concealed in the vehicle, the statement added.

During the follow-up investigation, NCB teams conducted further operations in Barhaj town of Deoria, resulting in the recovery of an additional 204.8 kg of ganja and the arrest of two more accused, it said.

With two separate recoveries, the total seizure by the NCB and Uttar Pradesh STF totalled 406.8 kg of ganja, it added.

The four accused were charged with offences under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

The NCB said that investigation was underway to identify and apprehend other persons involved in the trafficking network and to ascertain the forward and backward linkages of the contraband.

In a separate operation in Maharashtra earlier, the NCB arrested two drug traffickers and recovered 702 kg ganja while busting a major interstate trafficking network in Gondia, an official said.

“The 702 kg ganja was concealed in 100 packets among grocery cargo items, including detergent, toothpaste and hair dye, was recovered and seized,” the official said in a statement.

The seized contraband was sourced from Odisha and destined for multiple Maharashtra-based drug syndicates operating in Nagpur, Gondia, Pune and Mumbai.

In another case, the NCB secured jail terms in a Mumbai court for five drug traffickers, including the kingpin, in a synthetic drug trafficking case.

The convicts were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 15 years to one year, a statement added.

The Special NDPS Court in Thane sentenced the kingpin Mohammed Arif Yaqoob Bhujwala, a resident of Mumbai’s Chinchbunder, to 15 years’ imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 2 lakh, the NCB’s Mumbai Zonal Unit said.

“Parvez Khan alias “Chinku Pathan” and Mohammed Salman Khan, both residents of Chinchbunder, along with Vikrant Jain, a resident of Bhiwandi in Thane, were awarded five years’ imprisonment each and fined Rs 50,000 each,” the NCB added.

“Haris Faizullah Khan, resident of Bandra West in Mumbai, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 10,000,” it said.

The NCB investigation led to freezing of two movable and three immovable properties worth more than Rs 1.5 crore belonging to Parvez Khan alias Chinku Pathan.