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Fake PSPCL helpline fraud: Jharkhand gram panchayat pradhan’s son in police net
A team had earlier on January 10 been constituted by senior officers and sent to Deoghar, Dumka in Jharkhand, to arrest the main kingpin
Following 12 arrests, police have now nabbed the kingpin behind the fake customer helpline gang that had duped a Sector 31 resident by posing as Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials on the pretext of helping him get an electricity metre registered for his Mohali flat.
The victim, Ravinder Kumar Dhir of, had been duped of ₹3.26 lakh.
A team had earlier on January 10 been constituted by senior officers and sent to Deoghar, Dumka in Jharkhand, to arrest the main kingpin. The accused, Yar Mohammad alias Guddu Raza of Mathadangal village, Deoghar, was arrested and brought to a five-day police remand.
The accused Yar Mohammad is the alleged kingpin of the nexus and as per police manages the cheated money. Police said the accused’s father, Noshad, is the sarpanch of Mathadangal village and also the pradhan of nine village gram panchayats.
Police said he had different gang members working on different tasks such as providing SIM cards, providing bank accounts and credit cards, receiving calls from the victims, having them install remote access apps, uploading fake customer care numbers on Google and arranging food for the gang members.
When the local cyber police of his area conducted a raid to nab him, they were attacked by the accused and his accomplices. An attempt-to-murder case was registered in Jharkhand.
The accused has allegedly been running the gang for the past three years and had earned ₹50 lakh through cyber crime all over India as per police. The accused invested the money in his father’s election campaign, to purchase luxury cars, bikes and build a new house in his village.
The other accused had been arrested from West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. The gang had been running a fake call centre and had given their mobile numbers for a variety of services and helplines that would show up on Google searches.
