In a major breakthrough, the Delhi Police have claimed to have busted a gang of cyber fraudsters who duped people on the pretext of providing cheap flight tickets, news agency PTI reported.
Two persons have been arrested in this connection from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, an officer said on Friday. The accused have been identified as 28-year-old Tanuj Agarwal, a tour and travel operator from Dehradun, and Tanveer (30), a resident of Deoband in Uttar Pradesh. The police revealed that the duo was in contact with some Chinese nationals via a messaging app.
The case surfaced after a complainant, Dikson Singh from the Civil Lines area, alleged that he lost Rs 50,000 while trying to book low-cost flight tickets for his family to Kerala. Singh stated that he came across an online advertisement offering discounted tickets and was tricked into transferring the money through a fraudulent payment link.
A case was registered at the Cyber Police Station in the north district, and a probe was launched.
During the investigation, the police found that the complainant’s money was transferred into a bank account belonging to UTM Tourism Services Pvt Ltd, which is operated by Agarwal. Agarwal was arrested on September 16 in Dehradun’s Sahastradhara Road area.
Agarwal disclosed that he had handed over his bank account details to Tanveer, who communicated with some Chinese nationals via the messaging app. On Tanveer’s insistence, Agarwal allowed the use of his account in exchange for Rs 65,000, according to the police.
Tanveer was tracked down to Deoband and arrested on September 18. During interrogation, he admitted to supplying bank account details to foreign handlers through the messaging app in return for Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh per account, PTI reported.
Verification revealed that at least 25 complaints of cyber fraud across different states are linked to this account, the officer added.
The police have seized a cheque book in the name of UTM Tourism Services Pvt Ltd as well as two mobile phones from the offenders.
Authorities confirmed that further investigation is underway to identify the foreign handlers involved and to trace the money trail.
(With inputs from PTI)
https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/delhi-police-bust-cyber-fraud-gang-operating-cheap-flight-ticket-scam-two-arrested-23595948