Crime Branch busts call centre in Delhi scamming seniors, 3 held

They called senior citizens claiming to be representatives of a private finance company which ran a special scheme for the elderly to get interest-free loans

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police crime branch on Wednesday busted a bogus call centre in Delhi and arrested three scammers who duped senior citizens by offering them interest-free loans. During the raid, the police seized over 100 mobile phones, SIM cards, and laptops.

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The accused were identified as Shehzad Khan, 30, Anuj Rawat, 30, and Mohammad Amir, 34. While investigating their latest scam on a 71-year-old Mumbai resident, the police also learnt that they had duped 132 other seniors across the country.

According to the police, the complainant lives in the western suburbs and works as a consultant in a company. He wanted to start a new business last year and required a loan of ₹7 crore. While searching for loan options online, he received a call from one of the accused. The accused made the victim deposit ₹1.14 crore under the pretext of processing fees and commissions for business loan sanction. Once the elderly man realised he was cheated, he approached the Cyber police who registered a case in March 2024.

Based on technical evidence, the police zeroed in on Maximiser Marketing Private Limited, a call centre in Anand Vihar in New Delhi. A team from West Cyber police station visited the city and conducted two-day recce before raiding the office.

During interrogation, the three accused confessed that they called senior citizens claiming to be representatives of a private finance company which ran a special scheme for the elderly to get interest-free loans, said deputy commissioner of police Datta Nalawade of the crime branch. They sent bogus documents carrying the company’s name to gain victims’ trust and made them deposit money in their bank account under various pretexts. They would then stop responding to the victims, Nalawade added.