Five held for duping man of Rs 79 lakh

Accused posed as officials of TRAI, CBI and Mumbai Crime Branch: Cops

The conmen spoke to the victim multiple times claiming to be calling from the Mumbai Crime Branch, TRAI, and the CBI. (File photo)

Five more people were arrested on Saturday by the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police from Surat in an alleged fraud to the tune of Rs 79 lakh, which saw the accused impersonating officials from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Mumbai Crime Branch of Maharashtra Police, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as well as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to dupe the victim, said officials. With the latest set of arrests, 10 people have so far been arrested in the case, officials added.

A statement from the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police on Saturday said that the accused allegedly called the man they targeted in the guise of a false claim that his telephone number had been assessed as being involved in prohibited advertising practices and that an FIR had been filed against him at Byculla police station in Mumbai. They further scared him by warning that illegal transactions had been traced back to the bank account registered with his Aadhaar card, leading to “an arrest warrant being issued in his name”.

The conmen allegedly spoke to the victim multiple times, claiming to be calling from the Mumbai Crime Branch, TRAI and the CBI. After scaring the complainant, the accused then made the victim divulge his bank account details. They also continuously harassed the couple by claiming to be keeping a tab on their WhatsApp messages and calls, asking them to cooperate in their “investigation”. The accused then asked the complainant to transfer their money to a certain amount on the promise that they would get their money back at the end of the investigation.

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Police tracked the accused to a shop located in a commercial building in Sarthana area of Surat. The accused have been identified as Ravi Ashok Savani (30), Sumit Ashok Moradiya (29), Prakash Ramesh Gajera (28), Piyush Jaysukh Malaviya (28), and Kalpesh Mahadev Rojasara (32).

Police seized Rs 12.75 in cash among other things. The questioning also revealed the proceeds of crime were being sent by the accused to another man identified as Rocky, based in Dubai. The accused were also involved in benami transactions by opening ghost bank accounts. A police statement said the accused used to work on commission basis.

Further investigation over their handler in Dubai is now underway, said officials.

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