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Navi Mumbai News: Raigad Police Bust Digital Arrest Racket Spanning 6 Countries, 11 Arrested

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Navi Mumbai: Investigations into a complaint of a ‘digital arrest’ scam in Raigad has now been found to be linked with an international cybercrime syndicate operating across India, Nepal, Pakistan, Canada, China, and Bangladesh. Acting on a complaint filed in May, the Raigad Cyber Police have arrested 11 individuals, including tech-savvy masterminds, telecom insiders, and marketing agents.

The investigation started after a local citizen reported receiving a threatening video call on May 5 from someone posing as an official from the Telecom Authority of India. The victim was told that his identity had been misused for illegal transactions and that a Supreme Court arrest warrant was issued against him. To ‘settle’ the matter, he was forced to transfer Rs 66 lakh in multiple installments. The fraud was cleverly masked as a ‘digital arrest’.

“What appeared to be a standalone scam quickly revealed deeper layers. The Raigad Cyber police station found that the scam was just the tip of a pan-India and cross-border telecom exploitation operation run using forged company documents, SIP lines, and cloud-based calling servers,” Raigad Superintendent of Police Anchal Dalal said.

Abhay Santprakash Mishra, (29), a B.Tech Computer Science graduate from Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh was found to be the mastermind. Mishra managed a network of five high-capacity telecom servers that placed over 62 lakh spoofed calls in 28 days, including 86,910 targeting Maharashtra alone.

Mishra was found to be in constant digital communication with foreign nationals from Pakistan, Canada, Nepal, Bangladesh, and China, discussing the setup of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) lines, a telecom technology that allows voice and video communication over the internet — often without requiring user-level identification.

Using the alias ‘Alex,’ Mishra conducted encrypted conversations via Microsoft Teams, discussing fraud operations, lease line acquisitions, and telecom routing with international collaborators. “He was also preparing forged documentation to obtain permanent residency in Nepal,” Dalal said. Authorities have also identified properties linked to him in Nepal, Noida, and Hardoi, along with Rs 85 lakh in Bitcoin, as proceeds of crime.

Police found that the gang had created fake companies such as Nivi Cloud Pvt Ltd, Credil Info Pvt Ltd, Oxydeal, and others. These companies existed only on paper — supported by fraudulent documents, forged rubber stamps, and complicit telecom sales executives.

Two Jio Sales Managers, Balmori Vinaykumar Rao and Gangadhar Gangaram Muttan, played a crucial role by accepting these fake documents via WhatsApp, signing off as company directors, and approving telecom SIP lines. These telecom lines were then used to make fake calls in the guise of CBI, ED, police, and other agencies.

Police also arrested Mohsin Mia Khan (35) from Delhi, who possessed over 6,175 SIM cards from providers like Jio, Airtel, BSNL, VI, Idea, and 13 foreign numbers — along with 26 mobile handsets. These SIM cards were being used to rotate identities, mask call origins, and bypass traceability.

The network involved a team of document forgers identified as Abdus Salam Barbhuyan, Nadeem Ahmed, Lairab Khan, Shadan Khan, and Mohammad Faisal Khan, all of whom played roles in setting up fake firms and laundering funds. Fake bank accounts, dummy directors, and proxy communications were used to route money, with over 112 bank accounts identified and Rs 66 lakh frozen so far.

Shams Tahir Khan, an MBA graduate from Rajasthan, acted as the SIP marketing conduit, onboarding international players and travelling with Mishra to Nepal, which is emerging as a safe haven for such cyber operators due to weak extradition oversight, said police.

Authorities have invoked multiple charges under IPC Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B, the Telegraph Act, and the IT Act. Assets across multiple states and countries are now under seizure proceedings.

Raigad SP Aanchal Dalal, who led the investigation, warned that ‘digital arrest’ is a fake concept. “Neither the CBI, ED, nor the Police call citizens through WhatsApp or ask for money to avoid legal action. Citizens are urged to immediately report such incidents to the Cyber Helpline 1930, 1945, or 14407, or visit the nearest police station,” she added.

Further investigations into the crime is being conducted by SP Dalal and Additional Superintendent of Police, Abhijit Shivthare, Inspector Rizwana Nadaf, Assistant Police Inspector Amol Jadhav, ASI Mohite, PN Tushar Gharat, PN Rahul Patil, PN Rajiv Zinjurte, PC Gurav, LHC Suchita Patil and LHC Puja Patil.

Crime

Accused in Rs 2 crore Pune embezzlement case arrested in Nashik

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Nashik (Maharashtra), June 16: An absconding accused in a Rs 2 crore embezzlement case registered in Pune was arrested in Maharashtra’s Nashik on Tuesday, police said.

According to a complaint filed by Kiran Dadasaheb Shinde, 38, with Pune police, the responsibility for flat sales and related activities across four buildings (A, B, C, and D) of the ‘Ganga Fernhill’ project had been entrusted to Senior Sales Manager Simon Ronnie Peter, 42, but he allegedly, instead of depositing the proceeds from flat sales into the company’s account, transferred the funds to a fraudulent private bank account belonging to his associate, B. Chandrashekhar, thereby embezzling approximately Rs 2 crore collected from 32 customers.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered at Pune’s Kalepadal Police Station on June 9 (Crime No. 257/2026), under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

However, following the registration of the case, Peter went absconding and even switched off his mobile phone to evade arrest.

During the course of the investigation, Pune police received information that the accused was hiding in Nashik city and officials from Kalepadal Police Station contacted Senior Police Inspector Ashok Sharmale of the Gangapur Police Station and sought assistance in tracing and apprehending Peter.

Acting on credible intelligence, Sharmale learned that the accused Peter had arrived in Nashik in a car and was staying in Room No. 301 of Hotel Treebo Sapphire in Kalenagar on Gangapur Road.

Upon receiving the information, Crime Investigation Team officer Ghanshyam Bhoye and his team were immediately dispatched to the location. Acting swiftly, the police team detained the accused and subsequently handed him over to the Pune police for further legal proceedings.

The operation was successfully carried out under the leadership of Senior Police Inspector Sharmale of the Gangapur Police Station, and his team, including Assistant Sub-Inspector Tushar Deore and Police Head Constables Ravindra Mohite, Girish Mahale, Bhagwat Thavil, Ghanshyam Bhoye, Pravin Kedare, Gorakh Salunke, Sujit Jadhav, and Tulshidas Chaudhary.

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Crime

Telangana ACB raids govt official’s premises, seizes Rs one crore in cash

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Hyderabad, June 16: Telangana’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday conducted searches at premises linked to an official in the Lands and Surveys Department in an alleged case of disproportionate assets (DA).

ACB officials conducted simultaneous searches at 12 locations in and around Hyderabad against Sunkari Narahari, Deputy Director of Lands and Surveys (Multi Zone-2), over allegations of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Led by ACB DSP Gangasani Sridhar, raids were carried out at Narahari’s residence in Chatrinaka in the old city, his office in Narayanaguda, and properties linked to his relatives and close associates.

Sources say officials seized around Rs one crore in cash, along with documents related to multiple properties and significant bank deposits.

ACB officials were using currency counting machines to count wads of notes and weighing machines for gold jewellery and silver items. The anti-graft agency is continuing investigations into his assets, bank accounts and investments.

The ACB is likely to issue a detailed statement on the searches and its findings in the evening.

The raids were conducted following allegations that the official was involved in corrupt practices.

This comes a week after the ACB arrested Roads and Buildings (R&B) Engineer-in-Chief Mohan Naik in a disproportionate assets case.

The ACB officials on June 9 conducted searches at the residence and other premises linked to Mohan Naik and his relatives.

The officials recovered Rs 60 lakh cash, gold jewellery weighing a kilogram, and 13 gold biscuits. They also found documents of properties in Hyderabad and Nizamabad.

According to the ACB, assets identified during raids have an official value of about Rs 17.95 crore. However, their market value is estimated at nearly Rs 200 crore.

The agency produced Mohan Naik before a court, which sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.

There have been allegations that the Engineer-in-Chief favoured certain companies in awarding contracts and building a large network of influence across Telangana.=

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Crime

Delhi: Three arrested in cyber fraud case under ‘Operation Pre CyHawk’

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New Delhi, June 16: In a significant breakthrough under ‘Operation Pre CyHawk’, the Delhi Police’s Okhla Industrial Area Police Station successfully solved a cyber fraud case involving the unauthorised transfer of Rs 99,000 and arrested three persons from Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district.

According to Delhi Police, the case surfaced after complainant Anoop Haldhar, a resident of Okhla Phase-I, reported receiving a suspicious link on his mobile phone. After clicking on the link, his device was allegedly compromised, leading to the unauthorised withdrawal of Rs 99,000 from his Kotak Mahindra Bank account through UPI and Google Pay transactions. Acting promptly, the victim reported the incident to the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930.

During the investigation, police officials traced the digital money trail and identified the beneficiary account located in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. Based on the findings, FIR No. 330/2026 dated June 12, 2026, was registered at the Okhla Industrial Area Police Station under Sections 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation was assigned to Sub-Inspector Sanjay Meena.

A police team comprising Sub-Inspector Sanjay Meena, Head Constable (HC) Dharampal, and Constable Jai Ram immediately proceeded to Rajasthan and apprehended the beneficiary account holder, identified as Rajat. During sustained interrogation, Rajat disclosed the involvement of two associates, Mitesh and Manoj Kumar, who allegedly arranged and operated the account as a mule account to route the fraudulently obtained funds.

Police said the accused attempted to evade detection by communicating only through voice and WhatsApp calls and frequently switching off their mobile phones. However, sustained technical surveillance, digital analysis, and cyber investigation, with support from ASI Rakhi and HC Abhay, enabled investigators to track and arrest the remaining two accused from a rented accommodation in Nawalgarh, Rajasthan.

The operation culminated in the arrest of all three accused. Police also recovered Rs 21,000 in cash, WhatsApp chats linking the conspirators, the beneficiary’s bank passbook, and an Aadhaar card, all of which are expected to serve as crucial evidence in the ongoing investigation.

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