Fake call centre case: Accused was under debt of Rs 40 lakh, names ‘mastermind’ in case

Singh claimed that Chetan provided him with all the data, accounts, sim cards and mobile phones.

One of the three persons – Ashukumar Singh – arrested in the fake call centre case, which was being operated from Ghaziabad, has claimed that he was under a debt of around ₹40 lakh, which forced him to engage in the illegal work.

Last week a team visited Ghaziabad in search of the mastermind. However, they failed to trace him even after a week. (HT File/Representational Image)

Singh, 24, along with Shamkant Sharma, 22, and Vivek Sharma, 26, was arrested by the Matunga police on April 19.

According to the police, the Sharma’s were working on a monthly salary of ₹12,000 and were asked to debit amounts from different ATMs with the password given by Ashukumar.

Ashukumar, a graduate, in his statement to the police has revealed that he met mastermind Chetan M in a function at Ghaziabad. After a brief conversation, they decided to start a call centre. Singh claimed that he was provided with all the data, mobile phones, accounts and SIM cards by Chetan.

“Singh was jobless after his course and was under a debt of ₹40 lakh. We suspect that he was cheated by some other person in the past, which led him to take up the extreme step of cheating others to cover his debt amount,” said a police official.