It all began with a call: How Chennai police zeroed in on Assam-based ‘digital scammers’

Weeks later, the cybercrime wing of the Chennai Police arrested Partha Pratim Bora, 38, in Guwahati, Assam, in connection with the alleged scam — the first crack in the syndicate. Bora was no ordinary fraudster. Investigations revealed that he had received Rs 3.8 crore across eight transactions and dispersed it into 178 accounts in a single day.

The police worked through layers of digital evidence and eventually, Bora’s confession led them to four others: Dhrubajyoti Mazumdar, 25; Swaraj Pradhan, 22; Prashant Giri, 21; and Pranjal Hazarika, 28. All from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, they were conduits between the masterminds and the victims, the police claimed.

According to A. Radhika, additional commissioner of police (cyber crime wing) in Chennai, investigators retracing bank transactions to track down the suspects.

“The modus operandi here was to send the money abroad after it was looted from people using their own tactics. In a few cases in Chennai, we found that a few innocent people, such as students or those untutored in digital transactions, were made to open bank accounts. Scamsters distributed the money they looted into these individual accounts and then transferred it abroad,” she told The Indian Express.

Asked if the foreign links here were the route in such scams or if the real bosses were sitting abroad, the officer said they are yet to ascertain the details.

According to sources, it was a multi-country scam.

“The syndicate had connections in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Thailand. Chinese nationals led the network. Local agents, spread across India, worked on the ground. They were in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Jaipur. They handled the stolen money, moved it through accounts, and ensured it vanished without a trace,” said an officer part of the investigation.

Fear, according to investigators, was the main weapon.

“Victims were told their phones were tracked. They were warned not to disclose details of the calls. National security was the pretext. Victims were kept on video calls while the fraudsters worked. Fixed deposits were liquidated, savings wiped out. The victims realised too late,” he said.

The gang was methodical, another investigation officer said. Bank accounts were set up under fake business names.

“One such account was Harshi Health Care Private Limited, owned by Bora. Devices used in the scams were seized now. From the details we are gathering from these devices, it is a highly sophisticated, global operation. Bora was arrested on November 14 because we worked really fast. He was brought to Chennai on a transit warrant. We have arrested his four close aides now. All arrested are in judicial custody,” the second officer said.

With more such complaints emerging, Chennai Police Commissioner A. Arun appealed to the public to be cautious about such fake calls and warned people not to transfer money into unknown bank accounts. Any incidents of fraud should be immediately reported through the cybercrime helpline (1930) or the website https://cybercrime.gov.in, he said.