Daijiworld Media Network - Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Oct 18: The Chhawani police have arrested five persons for allegedly running an online fraud racket using bank accounts, fake merchant accounts and SIM cards obtained through the identity documents of poor and needy people in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra.
According to Chhawani police station in-charge Assistant Police Inspector Dr Vivek Jadhav, a special team led by Police Inspector Sachin Gadekar, along with Police Head Constable Mahashank Dandge and other personnel, was on night patrol when it received information about a suspicious Rajasthan-registered vehicle bearing registration number RJ 23 CG 4464 around 11 pm on October 12.
The police tracked the vehicle for two to three hours and eventually received information that it was parked near an open ground opposite Suryatej Residency in Padegaon. Acting on the information, the police detained five persons found gathered around the vehicle at around 1.10 am on October 13.
During questioning, the suspects initially attempted to mislead the police by providing false names. However, after further interrogation, two of the accused from Rajasthan, Gaurav Chand Mohanlal and Uddeshya Prem Singh Bainade, allegedly admitted to operating a fraud racket from a flat at Suryatej Residency, Flat No. 13, Padegaon, Mitmita.
A search of the flat led to the recovery of 31 sound boxes belonging to online payment gateway companies, 23 merchant accounts and QR codes, along with code stands and stickers bearing different names used to receive online payments.
According to the police investigation, online financial fraud operations often rely on bank accounts or fraudulent merchant accounts to route money through multiple accounts. The accused allegedly targeted poor and financially vulnerable people in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city and the Chhawani area by offering them financial incentives and misleading them into handing over their identity documents and other personal papers.
The documents were allegedly used to open bank accounts, create merchant accounts and obtain SIM cards in different names. These accounts and SIM cards were then allegedly misused to facilitate financial fraud.
The Chhawani police sought assistance from the cyber police to investigate the racket further and establish the extent of the alleged fraud.
Based on a complaint lodged by Police Head Constable Mahashank Dandge, a case has been registered against five accused at the Chhawani police station.
The accused have been identified as Gaurav Chand Mohanlal, 25, a resident of Dayal Ki Nangal, Neem Ka Thana, Sikar district, Rajasthan; Vivek Gurudyal Mulodiya, 32, of Ambedkar Colony, Neem Ka Thana, Sikar district, Rajasthan; Uddeshya Prem Singh Bainade, 26, of Pendhapur, Gangapur; Mahesh Shivaji Ghare, 27, of Gangotri Park, Wadgaon Kolhati; and Shahbaz Afroz Siddiqui, 19, of Pandharpur in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Further investigation is underway to determine the extent of the alleged fraud and identify other persons who may be involved in the racket.