PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
The Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two cyber criminals for cheating a man of Rs 23.55 lakh in the name of providing Reliance Industries Campa Cola dealership. The accused duo was arrested from Vijay Vihar area of Delhi by cyber police of Rudrapur under Kumaon range.
According to the police, a resident of Rudrapur had in November searched on Google for a Campa Cola dealership. During the search, fraudsters had contacted him and posed as fake officials of Reliance Industries. They had promised him a Campa Cola dealership and asked for money in the name of registration, security, and stock charges. Trusting them, the victim had transferred a total amount of Rs 23.55 lakh. Later, he realised that he had been duped and lodged a complaint at the cyber police station, Rudrapur.
After receiving the complaint, the STF started an investigation. With the help of CCTV footage from bank ATMs, the police identified the accused and arrested the duo from Delhi.
The arrested accused have been identified as Ram Kumar and Shubham Kumar, who are both 22 years old, hailing from Bihar. Police said that the accused used to trap poor people from Bihar and Delhi with job offers. They used to be asked to open bank accounts in their names on the pretext of salary payments and these bank accounts were later used for cyber fraud.
The cyber additional superintendent of police (ASP), STF, Kush Mishra said that their team had recovered a large number of items used in cybercrime. “We recovered eight mobile phones, 18 cheque books, 30 ATMs, five Aadhaar cards and PAN cards of different people from the accused,” he said.
The STF officials said that they would come down heavily on the cyber criminals while making it clear that no government agency arrests people online. Citizens are asked to stay alert to keep safe from cyber fraud and inform police immediately by calling the cyber helpline number 1930 in case they feel they have been trapped in cyber fraud.
