HYDERABAD: The cyber crime police of Central Crime Station here arrested ten persons in Delhi on Wednesday for duping a retired assistant sub-inspector (ASI) on the false promise of huge claims on existing/lapsed insurance policies.
Police seized Rs7.30 lakh in cash, three laptops, 11 hard discs, 37 mobile phones and four debit cards from the accused who included students and businessmen from Delhi and Lucknow.
Police said the retired ASI, Mohd Liyaqat Ali Khan (59) of Quazipura, lodged a complaint on November 24 that he had been lured by one Aman Varma who said that he (ASI) was sanctioned Rs18,12,642 towards his earlier insurance policy subscribed with Reliance company and, to claim the same, he needed to become an agent of Indian Value Card. For becoming an agent, he needed to send cheques for Rs1,42,000 in the name of Indian Value Card.
Believing Varma, Khan sent two cheques in the name of Indian Value Card for a total amount of Rs1,42,000.
Later, he received three discount cards of Indian Value Card. Further, he received a call from one Akash Purohit who asked him to take two policies for Rs1,25,000 and Rs99,000 of Exide Life Insurance. Without suspecting anything fishy, the retired policeman did as told and issued cheques. He received two policies of Exide Life Insurance. Later, on the directions of Neha Singh and Ranjan Ghosh, he deposited Rs2,11,000 and Rs2,37,448 in a Punjab National Bank account in the name of Indian Solutions represented by Ramesh Yadav and Ifteqaruddin.
After parting with such a hefty sum in blind faith, Khan realised that it could be fraud and he could have been fooled. He then lodged a police complaint.
During investigation police arrested Uday Mahajan (31), vice-president, Rakesh Kumar Mishra (36), HR manager, and Rajiv Singh (31), centre head, of Emerick Consumer Products Pvt Ltd, New Delhi; Sardhul Sidhu (30), Meerut branch manager; Rajiv Varma (29), manager; Dilbar Kaintura (26), team manager; Saroj Kumar (28), team coordinator; Alok Shukla (30), owner of Star Club, Lucknow; Ramesh Yadav, a student; and Ifteqaruddin (28) of Maharajgunj Surgicals.
Six other accused _ Prashant Arora, Deepak Arora, Rahul Virmani, Gyaneswar, Smarth Gupta and Piyush _ are still absconding.
The six floated different companies to carry out their unlawful activities and organised call centres by engaging unemployed youth as tele-callers. Emerick Consumer Products Pvt Ltd, headed by Prashant Arora, Rakesh Kumar Mishra and Uday Mahajan, appointed nearly 200 tele-callers and supplied them mobile and fixed phones to them to contact customers. The organisers collected the data of policy holders of different companies and supplied the same to tele-callers with instructions to call the customers inducing them to pay amounts through cheques/RTGS/NEFT transfer/cash deposit into the accounts which were opened in fictitious names by the organisers.
After collecting money, often ranging from Rs1 lakh to Rs15 lakh, from policyholders, the cheats stopped communication with the victims. In the present case, Khan paid Rs8.15 lakh to the cheats,” said joint commissioner of police, CCS, Prabhakar Rao.
So far 45 bank accounts operated by the cheats and deposits of Rs79 lakh have come to light. The money has been frozen.
Those arrested in Delhi and brought to Hyderabad on transit warrant were produced in court. Police filed a petition seeking their custody for 15 days to get information about the number of victims and the money collected. Those arrested in Lucknow and brought here on transit warrant will also be produced in court here.