E-Paper
Ludhiana: ₹7-crore fraud Kingpin held from Assam
The arrested accused has been identified as Atnu Chaudhry of Guwahati, Assam; the accused along with Anand Kumar was earlier arrested by the cyber crime police station in September 2024, but he was quickly released on bail by the court on the condition of joining investigation, however, the accused never showed up at the police station
Kingpin of the interstate gang of cyber criminals, who posed as CBI officers to dupe Padma Bhushan awardee and Vardhman Group chairman, 82-year-old SP Oswal, of ₹7 crore nine months ago has arrested again. The police identified eight more accused involved in the digital robbery. The arrested accused has been identified as Atnu Chaudhry of Guwahati, Assam.
The accused along with Anand Kumar was earlier arrested by the cyber crime police station in September 2024, but he was quickly released on bail by the court on the condition of joining investigation, however, the accused never showed up at the police station. His aides were identified as Nimmi Bhattacharjee, Alok Rangi, Gulam Mortaza, Sanjay Sutradhar, Rintu, Rumi Kalita, and Zakir.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) City and Rural Rupinder Singh stated that the cyber crime police arrested the accused from Guwahati following a tip-off. The rest of the accused belong to Assam, West Bengal and New Delhi.
He added that the police had arrested Atanu Choudhary and Anand Kumar from Guwahati in September 2024 for duping SP Oswal. The accused were produced before a local court. The court bailed out the accused immediately and ordered them to join the investigation, but the accused did not turn up to join the investigation.
“The cyber crime cell did not get the custody of the accused for questioning, following which the progress in investigation of the case was slow. Following a tip-off the police arrested the accused from Guwahati,”said the DCP.
“We have identified other accused involved in the crime. A hunt is on for the arrest of the rest of the accused and more important information has been expected,”he added.
An FIR under Sections 308 (2), 319 (2), 318 (4), 351 (2), 61 (2) of BNS, sections 66C and 66 D of Information and Technology Act was lodged against the accused.
SP Oswal was placed under ‘digital arrest’
The Cyber Crime Police station of Ludhiana on Augst 31, 2024 had lodged an FIR against the cyber criminals for duping Oswal of ₹7 crore. According to the police, the accused made Oswal keep his skype camera on and not make any call or text to anyone.
According to the FIR, the fraudsters alleged Oswal’s involvement in a money laundering case linked to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal. They staged a fake Supreme Court hearing via Skype, with an imposter posing as Chief Justice of India, Justice D Y Chandrachud. The criminals also produced a forged, stamped Supreme Court order, convincing Oswal to transfer the funds.
According to the police, the fraudsters kept him under digital surveillance, instructing him to remain under constant observation via Skype, even while he slept. They accused Oswal of being involved in a money laundering case, despite the fact that he has no connection with Naresh Goyal. He was too intimidated to inform anyone.
The criminals manipulated the industrialist with highly convincing documents, including a Supreme Court case titled ‘Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud vs Shri Paul Oswal’ and a 24x7 surveillance order listing 70 conditions he had to follow, such as not obstructing camera views and refraining from texting or making calls without their permission.
Oswal transferred ₹7 crore in multiple transactions. The scam unraveled only when he confided in a senior colleague, who pointed out inconsistencies. Oswal then approached the police.
The criminals posed as CBI officers with formal attire and ID cards during Skype video calls, even setting up flags in the background to mimic an official setting. The complainant was persuaded to transfer ₹7 crore in four tranches.
Biggest recovery so far
The DCP added that the police had recovered ₹5.25 crore, six debit cards and three phones from the accused during their arrest in September 2024. According to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs, it is the biggest recovered in a cyber crime case so far, he added.
