New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) At least 13 people, including three women, were arrested from a fake call centre that was allegedly involved in duping the people on the pretext of providing loans.
A police officer in Delhi said that the gang was involved in cheating people across India, and the accused have duped people so far of Rs 2 crore.
Interestingly, the gang was also registered on the Sulekha app, which provides various services, and most of the calls were through this app.
According to the police, on Thursday, specific inputs were received regarding a fake call centre operating in Mangolpuri area.
"Acting on the inputs, a raid was conducted and 13 people were arrested," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Harendra Singh said.
The official said that they have also seized 13 mobile phones, one laptop and three registers.
On questioning, it was revealed that the owner of the fake call centre, Puneet had registered himself on Sulekha App through online mode as Mahalaxmi Finance.
"He used to receive calls on his mobile through the Sulekha App from customers who wanted to take loans. After receiving the mobile numbers from the Sulekha App, Puneet used to make calls to customers through tele communication by his workers," said the DCP.
"They insisted the customers to take loans at low interest rates and cheated them by receiving money as processing fees and file charges," said the official.
Two persons -- Puneet and Rahul are the masterminds of this gang, and they were cheating people by providing fake business loans and personal loans for the last two years.
"They have also opened fake bank accounts and used different fake SIM cards to cheat," the police officer added.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Manpreet Singh and Bhupinder Singh -- both from Faridkot; and Baljit Singh of Muktsar Sahib. The DGP said the police had established the identity of two of the main shooters -- Manpreet and Bhupinder -- on the first day of the crime and a manhunt was launched in this regard.
Police said that they have arrested nine people, including an Assam Rifles Head Constable, of the gang. Meanwhile, a manhunt has been initiated to nab other accused which also includes a Delhi-based lawyer.
Keeping in view the declining cases of Covid-19 in the country, the government on Wednesday removed mandatory requirement to wear masks in flights. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said that the decision has been taken following a review meeting on the issue with the Ministry of Health.
A police spokesperson said the case properties of drug cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, in Amritsar and Fazilka were destroyed on Tuesday.
Addressing a gathering during at a state-level function to mark the martyrdom day of the Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha at his native village here, the Chief Minister said bestowing the Bharat Ratna award to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, Shaheed Rajguru, Shaheed Sukhdev, Lala Lajpat Rai and others will enhance the prestige of this award.
A Delhi Police team on Wednesday again visited the rented house, in south Delhi's Chhattarpur, of Aftab Ameen Poonawalla (28), who has been arrested for allegedly killing his live-in partner and chopping her body into 35 pieces for disposal. According to a senior police official, the police team, along with forensic teams, inspected the house again.
