The bail application of Daniel David, 30, a resident of Navi Mumbai, was dismissed by the court of additional sessions judge (ADJ) Neeru Kamboj on October 15, in connection with a large-scale fake call centre racket busted In Panchkula in August.
On the night of August 21, Panchkula Police, acting on a tip-off, raided three fake call centres operating without permission in IT Park, Sector 22. The centres were allegedly targeting American citizens by fraudulently posing as customer service and technical support providers for major companies like Spectrum, AT&T, XFINITY, and CenturyLink.
The fraudsters used the Microsip-8001 dialer through a call vendor to connect with US customers calling toll-free numbers. They would “resolve” customers’ problems, gain remote access to their systems via tools like AnyDesk and TeamViewer, and then steal data. The racket defrauded victims of amounts ranging from $100 to $500 via gift cards, and even large sums of $3,000 to $5,000 transferred to online wallets.
Police found 11 men and two women working on desktops, talking in English to foreign nationals in one of the centres. Daniel David was among those initially apprehended, along with Manish. Later arrests included Rasul Dawood Sayyed, another person named Daniel David, and Manish Moti Pillai. Police had seized CPUs, laptops, mobile phones, and cash from the premises.
The case was registered at Chandimandir Police Station under various sections of the BNS, IT Act, and Telecommunication Act. Daniel David, who disclosed that he and 12 others worked under the instruction of Hardik, was named as an accused. The company was reportedly run by four shareholders: Arif Sheikh (Mumbai), Akil Sheikh (Pune), Hardik, and Koshik.
{{/usCountry}}The case was registered at Chandimandir Police Station under various sections of the BNS, IT Act, and Telecommunication Act. Daniel David, who disclosed that he and 12 others worked under the instruction of Hardik, was named as an accused. The company was reportedly run by four shareholders: Arif Sheikh (Mumbai), Akil Sheikh (Pune), Hardik, and Koshik.
{{/usCountry}}The petitioner’s counsel argued that David was falsely implicated. However, the prosecution countered that he was the manager running the fake call centre, citing call detail records (CDRs) showing regular contact with the company’s directors, and incriminating evidence recovered from his laptop.
Considering the gravity of the allegations, the nature of the offense, and the fact that investigation is still pending, the ADJ dismissed the bail plea, stating that granting bail at this stage would not be in the interest of justice.