Members of cyber fraud gang accused in police custody
Lucknow: Basti police busted a two-member cyber fraud gang accused of posing as crime branch officers and extorting money from people across 12 states in the country. The arrested accused have been identified as Aditya Gupta (28), a resident of Maskanwa Bazaar under Chhapia police station in Gonda district, and Ajay Singh (24), a resident of Kanchanpur under Gujaini police station in Kanpur Nagar. Additional superintendent of police Shyamkant Karwat said an FIR was registered on Sept 5 in connection with a cyber fraud case, following which the two suspects were arrested. They would then call the victim, introduce themselves as crime branch or senior police officers and claim that a 42-page call detail record (CDR) had been recovered against him. Police said the accused demanded around Rs 4 lakh on the pretext of getting the case closed through the court and another Rs 15,000 for settling the matter at the police station.
Two members of the gang have been arrested in Basti, police said. The accused would first collect information about a potential victim by entering the person’s mobile number on a UPI platform and obtaining his name and other details, according to police. Police said the gang used several other methods of cyber fraud as well, including posing as foreign nationals and carrying out digital arrest scams.
The gang allegedly threatened victims with arrest by claiming that their call detail records had been recovered and that they were facing cases for watching obscene videos. Even after receiving the money, they allegedly continued threatening victims by changing their voices and posing as senior officials, claiming that the matter was more serious than initially stated.
Accused Claims Criminal Case Over Obscene Video Viewing
The accused has informed the victim that he is facing legal action due to allegations of watching obscene videos. He stated that a criminal case is being registered against him in connection with these claims.