ADILABAD: Adilabad police arrested five members of a Bihar-based interstate cybercrime gang allegedly involved in cheating people across the country by offering fake fertiliser franchises and loans through fraudulent websites.
The arrested persons were identified as Abhishek Kumar (24), Ashutosh Kumar (33), Nishu Kumar (25), Ritesh Kumar (24) and Abinash Kumar (24), all natives of Bihar. They were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody.
According to police, around 498 cybercrime complaints have been registered against the accused nationwide, including 90 in Telangana. The gang is suspected to have cheated victims of about Rs 3.5 crore.
Police seized 10 mobile phones and Rs 70,000 in cash from the accused. During the investigation, police also found that around Rs 8 lakh of the alleged fraud proceeds had been invested in bank accounts and stock market shares. The accounts and investments have been frozen as per procedure.
The accused allegedly created a fake website offering franchises of “National Fertilizers Pvt Ltd” and collected personal details, including Aadhaar and PAN card information, photographs and bank account details, from applicants. They then allegedly demanded money in instalments under various heads, including registration, service, licence and trade transfer fees.
Police said the gang also operated a fake “Bajaj Loan” scheme, targeting people searching online for loans. The accused allegedly collected their personal and financial details and demanded various fees before cheating them.
The case came to light after Akunuru Ganesh, a resident of Mandagada village in Bhoraj mandal, lodged a complaint alleging that he had been cheated of Rs 3,85,725 while applying for a fertiliser franchise.
According to police, the accused contacted Ganesh through phone calls, WhatsApp and email and collected his Aadhaar and PAN card details, photograph and other personal information. They initially demanded Rs 50,000 towards franchise registration and later sought additional payments under the guise of licence charges, registration fees and other expenses. Ganesh allegedly transferred a total of Rs 3,85,725 through bank accounts, UPI and NEFT transactions. The accused allegedly stopped responding to his calls and messages after receiving the money.
