Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Oct 15: Bengaluru police have arrested 16 employees, including two women, of a fake BPO firm in HSR Layout for allegedly defrauding people in the US and Canada. The accused reportedly put victims under digital arrest to extort money, police said.

The case came to light on October 7, when the HSR Layout police received credible information about a company named “Cybits Solutions Pvt Ltd”, which had recruited 20-25 employees through online applications. After three weeks of training, the employees were allegedly instructed to call foreign customers and intimidate them.

Among those arrested are A Francis (29), R Karthik Raju Vadyanam (25), R Sunil (30), A Aravind Anni Poojari (31), L Inder Lalmanee Yadav (31), P Rohan (28), R Rishit Ramesh Saliyan (23), P Guru Prasanna (32) from Maharashtra; F Minot Kankai (32), R Remison Bamon (30), K Phani Leybha Nangzi (27), F Eljiba Mary Marbaning (23) from Meghalaya; B Rakesh Kumar Singh (29) from Odisha, S Ramakrishna Soni (43) from Madhya Pradesh, P Priyanka Gurung (24) from West Bengal, and G Madhev Singh (28) from Gujarat.

Police seized 41 computers, 25 mobile phones, four script notebooks, four routers, four modems, two attendance registers, ID cards, and an IP device. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said the accused contacted US citizens, posing as law enforcement officers, and threatened them with fabricated charges of drug trafficking or money laundering. They then demanded money to "settle" the alleged cases.

Investigations revealed that the fake company lured job seekers with promises of housing, food, and transport. The defrauded amounts were transferred into the company's wallets or bank accounts. A suo motu case has been registered, and police are probing the main accused.