Nirbhik Bangla Special Report:
The police's relentless crackdown against cybercrime continues across West Bardhaman district. Multiple fraud rackets operating out of hotels and residential areas as safe havens, modeled after Jharkhand's infamous 'Jamtara Gang', have been traced in Durgapur and Kulti areas. In a series of police operations over less than 24 hours, several individuals were arrested from Durgapur and Kulti, and a huge quantity of cybercrime equipment was recovered.
The first incident took place in the Sadhudanga area near Durgapur Station Bazar. Acting on secret information, police raided a local hotel and caught four youths red-handed. Preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested individuals are residents of the Madhupur area in Jharkhand's Deoghar district. The arrested persons have been identified as Ganesh Saddar, Sachin Das, Jitendra Kumar Das, and Surendra Das. They had turned a hotel room into a virtual fraud 'office' and were targeting common people across various parts of the country through phone calls or digital media. Laptops, multiple mobile phones, ATM cards, and various important documents were recovered from them. It was learned that they frequently changed hotels to evade police surveillance. Deputy Commissioner (East) of Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate, Rashpreet Singh, stated that an investigation is underway to uncover the roots of this gang by taking the accused into police custody.
Alongside this, a joint team of police and the cyber cell conducted a major operation against a cybercrime gang in Harijan Para under the Niamatpur outpost of Kulti Police Station. Although 12 people were detained in Monday's operation, 11 were later arrested following legal procedures. On Tuesday, the arrested individuals were produced before the Asansol District Court. During the search, ₹3 lakh in cash, laptops, computers, and numerous mobile phones were seized. The police have applied for remand of the arrested persons to dig deeper into the network.
On the other hand, police from New Township and Budbud police stations jointly launched a major operation in the Kadaroad and Amravati VAMBAY Colony areas of Durgapur. In the operation at Kadaroad, six people were detained, and multiple electronic devices, including pen drives, ATM cards, passbooks, and hard drives, were recovered. Meanwhile, one suspect was arrested and six others were detained from Amravati VAMBAY Colony.
Experts believe that this massive crackdown by the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate is highly significant in curbing the growing trend of cybercrime. Investigators are probing whether a major interstate syndicate is involved in this racket aimed at siphoning off ordinary people's hard-earned money.
