PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttarakhand has busted a multi-state gang involved in online investment fraud and arrested three accused from Maharashtra on Thursday. The accused have been identified as Parteek Uttam Bafna, Ashish Kumar and Mohammad Shrim. All the accused are stated to be from Maharashtra.
According to the police officials privy to the details, the gang cheated a man from Srinagar in Pauri of around Rs 1.31 crore by luring him with promises of high returns on investment. As per police, the fraudsters gained the victim’s trust and convinced him to deposit money into multiple bank accounts over a period of time.
After realising that he had been duped, the victim filed a complaint with the Cyber Police Station in Dehradun. Following this, a case was registered.
During the investigation, the police analysed bank accounts, mobile numbers and email IDs linked to the fraud. Based on technical evidence, three accused were identified and then arrested from Maharashtra.
The STF team said that the modus operandi of such gangs is to trap people by offering fake investment schemes and showing small initial profits to gain trust. Later, they convince victims to invest large amounts of money.
The senior superintendent of police (STF), Ajai Singh appealed to people to stay alert. “You should not trust unknown calls, messages or online investment offers. Besides, you should not panic if someone claims to be from the police or any agency and threatens digital arrest, as no agency arrests people online,” he said in his appeal.
Police have urged citizens to report cyber fraud immediately by calling helpline number 1930 or by visiting the cybercrime website.
