The Punjab and Haryana high court has granted bail to a Chinese national, Wan Chenghua, 34, a key accused in the instant loan app scam unearthed by the Chandigarh Police in September 2022.
Chandigarh Police’s cyber cell had arrested 21 members of the gang, including Chenghua, through a 10-day operation spanning across five states, including Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
As per police, the accused allegedly blackmailed people who installed their instant loan apps. Through probe, police have found 1,578 linkages across the country, including 89 FIRs. Through app installation, they would get access to the victims’ private media on their mobile phones and extort money.
The police had submitted that if given bail, he may flee the country. However, the bench of justice Anoop Chitkara granted bail, observing that the accused found system and human vulnerabilities and, with the help of his Indian agents, took advantage of significant loopholes. “It is for the government to take appropriate measures empathising the people’s suffering and magnitude of this problem that the people not only of India but worldwide are facing and the global tarnishing of India’s image by these cyber thugs. However, keeping people in jail for an indefinite period is not a panacea and the court has to give regard to an upper limit for pre-trial custody,” the bench said.