Fatehgarh Sahib Cyber Cell has busted an inter-state cyber gang that cheated a man of ₹30 lakh by threatening him with a fake digital arrest.
The gang’s mastermind Akbar Ali was arrested from Malappuram ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਾ in Kerala nearly 2,600 km away from ਪੰਜਾਬ.
SSP Shubham Aggarwal informed that the victim, Harpal Singh filed a complaint on April 10. He had received two phone calls on April 5 from unknown numbers. The callers claimed to be ਸਰਕਾਰ officials and threatened him with digital arrest, saying he was involved in a terror case in Mumbai.
Fearing arrest, Harpal transferred ₹30 lakh to the bank account provided by the fraudsters. ਪੁਲਿਸ registered a case and started a technical investigation, which revealed the gang operated from Kerala. Akbar Ali not only scammed ਲੋਕ himself but also recruited others in states like Ludhiana, Noida, and Bihar by offering them money to open fake bank accounts.
Out of the 7 accused, 4 have been arrested – Maninder Singh, Anil Kumar, Naveen Sharma, and Akbar Ali. ਪੁਲਿਸ have recovered ₹9 lakh. During interrogation, another suspect, Rishad Melakam from Kerala, was named and has also been made an accused.
Akbar Ali is currently in two-day ਪੁਲਿਸ custody, and further investigations are underway. ਪੁਲਿਸ believe this cyber fraud network is spread across multiple states, and more arrests are expected soon.
