‘Electric shocks, deprival of food and water for days’: Mumbai youth recounts ordeal he faced at Chinese-run fraud call centre in Myanmar

Shaikh, in his complaint to the Malwani police, said that in July 2024, Melvin, who came in contact with the accused via a friend, told him that there is a job vacancy in a company in Thailand.

After Shaikh showed interest, Melvin lined up Shaikh’s interview over a video call with a Chinese-looking national. Shaikh was told that he cleared the interview and that he was selected for the job in Thailand and his monthly salary would be nearly Rs 75,000. Later, air tickets were also sent to him.

No visa, crossed border via road, sea route

On July 25, 2024, Shaikh landed at the Swarnabhoomi International Airport, Thailand. But as he did not have a visa, the gang members picked him up from the airport and took him to KK Park in Myawaddy Township, Myanmar, via road and sea routes.

There, Shaikh was dropped at a place where Melvin was present.

As per Shaikh’s complaint, Melvin told him that he has got a job as a chat executive at the X Max company. In this job the employees were made to send friend requests on Facebook to rich people, entrap them in love relationships, and then induce them into investing money in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes and extract money from the gullible people, Shaikh stated in the FIR.

“These call centres were run by the Chinese ‘gangsters.’ When any employee refused to do the illegal work, they would be beaten, not provided food and water for days and would be confined in a room,” Shaikh said.

Electric shocks, assaults to victims

“I have seen the Chinese operators of the call centre giving electric shocks to those who refused to work in their call centres. This included citizens from the Philippines as well,” Shaikh told The Indian Express.
They wanted us to sign an agreement for a year, to which I refused, saying my marriage is scheduled after six months. Hence, they dumped me, he added.

To release Shaikh and his friend Mehraj, the accused gang members demanded $3000 from them. After Mehraj somehow managed to pay $1000 to their ‘company boss’, the two were released, the police complaint said.

‘Was in prison for 15 days’

“We two, along with a Pakistani national, were randomly thrown on the road near the Myanmar-Thailand border. We walked for nearly five kilometres before reaching the border. After bribing people, we somehow managed to land in Thailand, where immigration authorities detained me and Mehraj and kept us behind bars for nearly 15 days and then deported us back in November 2024,” Shaikh said.

He added, “We somehow managed to get out from hell, or else we would have died. My family were so disturbed when they found out the atrocities I was facing. My father’s health deteriorated. Since I am the eldest among my siblings, I was desperate for a job. But my family’s prayers worked, and my life was saved.

“On the police’s instructions, I gathered all the details, evidence of travel, transactions, etc. in the past six months. Eventually my police complaint was lodged and cops expedited the investigation,” he said. He is now employed with a private company and is scheduled to get married in December this year.

A senior police officer cofirmed the development and said that the accused person Marvel is from Malvani area. “There was a delay from the victim’s family and relatives in reporting the matter to the police. But, now that we have received the complaint, we are probing the matter,” the senior officer said.

On Shaikh’s complaint, the police have booked Melvin and two others under sections 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 127(4) (wrongful confinement for three or more days) 143 (trafficking of person), 308 (extortion), 318(4) (cheating) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and are further investigating the matter.

60 rescued from cyber slavery in Myanmar last month:

The Maharashtra State Cyber Police last month rescued more than 60 Indian nationals who were forced into cyber slavery in Myanmar.

The racket members lured the victims through social media platforms and offered them high-paying jobs in Thailand and other East Asian countries, he said.

Maharashtra Cyber police registered three FIRs and arrested five individuals including a foreign national.