Thane: Shantinagar Police bust online banking fraud racket, arrest 3, while kingpin remains absconding | Representational Image
Thane: The Shantinagar Police in Bhiwandi busted a racket on Thursday that allegedly opened bank accounts and received cheque books and ATM cards, which were used for withdrawals after fraudulent online money was credited to the accounts.
The accused have been identified as Abdul Rab Ansari, 23, Atique Ahmad Ansari, 20, and Mohammad Basar Ansari, 20, who were arrested. The kingpin, Kaif Israr Sayyed, is absconding, and two juveniles were detained, all residing in the Shantinagar area of Bhiwandi.
The police said that the main kingpin is Kaif, who contacted these five people, including two juveniles. He opened nineteen bank accounts under three persons’ names. Two juveniles were used to withdraw money by being sent to the banks, and later they were provided a handsome commission for this work.
The investigation officer said that they received information from informers that a few people were involved in illegal banking activities in the Shantinagar area. Thereafter, they laid a trap, raided a house, and found that these individuals were involved in online fraudulent money withdrawal activities. They seized several ATM cards, cheque books, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and other documents.
The main kingpin is still absconding; two juvenile offenders were detained and three were arrested. Vinayak Gaikwad, Senior Police Inspector from Shantinagar Police Station, said, “During the preliminary investigation, it was learned that the kingpin is Kaif, who opened 19 bank accounts for three persons in different banks. Kaif kept the cheque books and ATM cards himself, while the two juveniles used to withdraw money using the ATM cards and cheque books.”
A case was lodged against them under section 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and the relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. The three accused were produced in court and remanded to police custody for further investigation into the matter. Police launched a manhunt for the absconding accused, Kaif.
The investigating officer said that they approached the respective banks and learned that a few accounts have been frozen by other states via an online cybercrime complaint lodged. They learned during the investigation that Kaif told these five people that he received money after winning from an online game and hence needed more bank accounts and opened account. They were trying to find out from whom the order for opening these bank accounts had come once Kaif’s nab. Furthermore, investigation of the matter are ongoing.
