Thane call centre scam: 23-year-old was the link between mastermind and investors

A senior Thane crime branch official said Mansoori was the go-to person for Thakkar. He allegedly told the police that Thakkar used to purchase data on US taxpayers using his overseas contacts and pass those on to the investors of through Mansoori

Haider Mansoori, 23, one of the arrested accused in the Mira Road scam, was allegedly the link between the mastermind of the scam, Shaggy alias Sagar Thakkar, and investors in the illegal call centres at Hari Om IT Park in Mira Road, including Jagdish Kanani. While the police custody of Masoori was on Tuesday extended till October 21, Kanani will be in police custody till Thursday.

A senior Thane crime branch official said Mansoori was the go-to person for Thakkar. He allegedly told the police that Thakkar used to purchase data on US taxpayers using his overseas contacts and pass those on to the investors of through Mansoori.

“Mansoori used to get the data from Thakkar and segregate it before handing over to other investors, including Jagdish. The data used to be sealed in packets and sent through his staff, who were unaware of the scam,” said the officer.

Mansoori, a school dropout, was the floor manager in Thakkar’s BPO and drew a monthly salary of Rs1 lakh. “At times, he was paid even more,” the officer said, adding he had recently purchased an SUV, which has been confiscated by the police.

Meanwhile, the police claimed they had reasons to suspect the involvement of Kanani’s wife in managing his business. She used to often visit their call centre in Mira Road and supervise the office, which was under-construction. “She too will be probed,” said sources.

The police have learned that Kanani ran two illegal BPOs in Malad and Borivli too. “Kanani is not cooperating with the investigation. During a search of his house, we found cheque books. The other bank details are missing not only from his house, but his office too. He has also deleted the details of his employees. The hard disks, too, are missing from many computers in his office,” said the officer.

Meanwhile, the police said at least two teams have been sent to Gujarat, where some of the suspects are believed to be hiding