In a major success to curb the rising menace of cybercrime in Durgapur, the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate has achieved a significant breakthrough. Acting on a tip-off from a reliable source, the police conducted lightning raids across various parts of the Durgapur police station area on Friday night, arresting 10 notorious cyber fraudsters. Investigators have confirmed that this syndicate has direct links with Jharkhand's infamous 'Jamtara module'.
According to police sources, for quite some time, complaints were pouring in that using the industrial belt of Durgapur as their base, these criminals were duping common people across the country of lakhs of rupees through bank KYC updates, fake loans, OTP frauds, and threats of 'digital arrest'. To nab this international and inter-state gang, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed by the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate.
Late Friday night, a special police force from the Durgapur police station simultaneously raided Naimnagar, Masjid Mohalla, Sonartari residential area, and multiple local hotels in the city. These criminals had set up secret hideouts there to spread their web of fraud. All 10 accused were arrested red-handed from the spot.
One of the arrested individuals is a resident of Jharkhand. Preliminary investigations reveal that this person primarily acted as a bridge between the Jamtara cyber gang and the local network in Durgapur. Multiple laptops, a large number of expensive smartphones, a huge quantity of fake pre-activated SIM cards, bank passbooks, ATM cards, and lists of personal data of common citizens were seized from the possession of the arrested individuals.
Investigators believe that to evade the law enforcement agencies, the accused frequently changed their hideouts and used various hotels or rented houses as temporary call centers. The police are sending the recovered gadgets for forensic examination.
On Saturday, all 10 arrested individuals were produced before the Durgapur Sub-Divisional Court amidst tight security by the Durgapur police station. Considering the gravity of the incident and to unearth the names of the kingpins of the syndicate, a plea has been made to take the accused into police custody. Investigators believe that interrogating the arrested persons face-to-face may reveal more sensational information regarding where the cybercrime money was laundered and who else is involved in this nexus.
