Illegal international call centre busted in Dwarka; five cyber fraudsters arrested for impersonating Amazon, Apple support agents

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

New Delhi, Sept 30 (IANS) The AATS of Delhi Police’s Dwarka District has busted an illegal international call centre operating from Vipin Garden, Uttam Nagar, and arrested five persons for targeting foreign nationals by impersonating Amazon and Apple technical support executives.

Acting on specific intelligence, a team led by Inspector Manish Yadav, AATS Dwarka, under the supervision of ACP/Operations Subhash Malik, conducted discreet surveillance and technical verification of the suspected call centre.

A raid was subsequently conducted during the intervening night of September 28 and 29, during which five persons were found involved in cyber fraud targeting foreign nationals.

The operation was carried out following directions from DCP, Dwarka, Kushal Pal Singh, as part of a special drive against illegal call centres involved in fraudulent activities. A dedicated team comprising SIs Dhananjay Kumar and Jitender Singh, ASI Dev Kumar, Head Constables Inder Singh, Sandeep, Sonu, Manish, Manoj, Pradeep, and woman Head Constable Mamta was constituted to identify such establishments, ascertain their modus operandi and apprehend those involved.

According to police, the accused contacted foreign nationals through VoIP applications, including MicroSIP, X-Lite and Google Voice, while posing as Amazon and Apple technical support executives. After gaining the victims’ confidence, they induced them to install AnyDesk and other remote-access software and subsequently deceived them into making payments or divulging sensitive financial information.

Police said 10 laptops, four mobile phones, two Wi-Fi routers, headsets and other calling accessories were recovered from the premises. Digital evidence, including Google Voice, MicroSIP, X-Lite and AnyDesk applications, international contact databases, call scripts, login credentials and other incriminating data, was also recovered.

The accused have been identified as Simranjeet, 33, a resident of Ludhiana; Mark Martin, 47, of Gurugram; Elton John Salters, 43, of Kolkata; Abhishek S Abraham, 30, of Mehrauli, Delhi; and Anita, 34, of Kendrapara, Odisha.

Police said Simranjeet worked as a call-centre operator and managed operational infrastructure, including allocating user IDs, passwords and other login credentials. Martin handled overseas calls and persuaded foreign victims by posing as a technical support executive.

Salters operated multiple systems and communicated with foreign nationals through VoIP applications and had previously been involved in similar activities, Abraham allegedly worked as a call-centre agent involved in cyber fraud operations, while Anita allegedly worked as a caller and used a dedicated laptop to contact foreign nationals under fictitious identities.

Of the five persons apprehended, one woman has been served a notice. A case has been registered under FIR No. 259/2026 dated September 29, under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 61(2) and 3(5) of the BNS and Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act at Mohan Garden Police Station.

Further investigation is underway.

–IANS

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Death threats to Raj CM, his deputy: DSP removed, nine cops suspended

Jaipur, March 28 (IANS) Nine cops have been suspended in connection with death threats to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa.

On Friday evening, ADG Rupinder Singh arrived at Bikaner Jail to investigate the threats made to the CM. As a result, Deputy Jailor Jaising, Chief Guard Vijay Pal, Guard Jagdish Prasad, and Anil Meena were suspended. Another police officer is under suspicion for providing mobile phones and SIM cards to the inmate involved in the threats.

In a related case, jailor Bhanwar Singh, Deputy Jailer Ramesh Chand, Chief Watchman Virendra Singh Bhati, Guard Chandrapal, and Surender Singh were suspended from Jaipur Central Jail following the March 27 incident where Deputy CM Prem Chand Barwa received a threatening call.

The DSP of Jaipur Central Jail, Indra Kumar, has been transferred to the District Jail in Sikar, while jailor Ramchandra and Chief Guard Chandan Charan were suspended.

This marks the fourth time in 14 months that CM Bhajan Lal Sharma has been threatened. On the most recent occasion, the threat came from an inmate in Bikaner Central Jail, with a mobile phone recovered during the investigation.

Earlier threats to the CM included a death threat on February 21 from Dausa Jail, where an inmate involved in a POCSO case made two threatening calls to the Jaipur Police Control Room between 12:45 and 12:55 a.m. The police tracked the calls to the Shyalwas Jail and subsequently seized mobile phones during a raid.

Another threat call was made from Shyalwas Jail on July 27, 2024, while a January 2024 threat was made from Jaipur Central Jail by a POCSO inmate, who threatened to shoot the CM.

Two days ago, on March 26, Deputy CM Premchand Barwa received a similar death threat. The location of the caller was traced to Jaipur Central Jail.

–IANS

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NHRC takes suo motu cognisance of drowning of kids in Delhi, Greater Noida

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of two incidents of the drowning of two male kids in public places in Delhi and Greater Noida.

The incident in Delhi happened when, reportedly, a 4-year-old boy fell into an open drain and died in the Mahendra Park area of the North-West District.

In another incident, a 6-year-old boy drowned in a water body inside a park in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

In a press statement released on Wednesday, the NHRC took note of the reported facts that residents had already informed the Greater Noida Development Authority (GNDA) about waterlogging in the fountain area of the park, where this incident happened, but no action was taken by the authorities. Taking note of the news reports, the apex human rights body said the contents of the press reports, if true, raise a serious violation of human rights.

The NHRC issued notices to the Delhi Chief Secretary, Police Commissioner and the MCD Commissioner in relation to the incident that happened in Delhi, and called for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.

Referring to media reports, the NHRC said that many such cases of death of people after falling into open drains or manholes have happened in the recent past in different parts of the national capital.

Further, in the incident that happened in Greater Noida, the Commission has issued notices to the GNDA Chairman and the Gautam Budh Nagar Police Commissioner, calling for a detailed report within two weeks.

Established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC, an autonomous statutory body, is an embodiment of India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights. Its primary role is to protect and promote human rights, defined as the rights relating to life, liberty, equality, and dignity of individuals guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India.

The apex human rights body has the power to take suo motu (on its own motion) action based on media reports, public knowledge or other sources, without receiving a formal complaint of human rights violations.

–IANS

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Trinamool delegation meets CEC in Delhi on SIR exercise; claims receiving ‘no proper answer’

New Delhi/Kolkata, Dec 31 (IANS) Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of not giving any proper answer to the questions raised by the party delegation of MPs led by him on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal during a meeting at the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters in Delhi.

“Last time in November, when we met the CEC and highlighted our points related to the SIR, we did not get any proper reply. This time also, we did not get any proper reply to the queries that we raised during the two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting,” Banerjee said while interacting with media persons outside the ECI office on Wednesday.

He said the Trinamool Congress would not tolerate what he described as the humiliation of the people of West Bengal in the name of SIR. “There will be no compromise on democracy. The fight to defend Bengal’s rights will continue, and not an inch will be surrendered to the anti-people BJP and its ally, the ECI,” he added.

Banerjee also accused the ECI of being vague about cases of “logical discrepancies”, referring to voters with doubtful family data detected during progeny mapping.

“The so-called ‘logical discrepancies’ built into the app at the electoral registration officer (ERO) and assistant electoral registration officer (AERO) levels must be corrected immediately. At the same time, the verification process must be conducted at the doorstep, not just for citizens above 85 years, but for all ailing and specially-abled citizens above 60 years of age. West Bengal will not allow its voters to be humiliated or disenfranchised under the guise of administrative exercises,” Banerjee said.

He said the delegation also raised objections over the Commission’s decision to bar booth-level agents (BLAs) from being present during hearings on claims and objections on the draft voters’ list.

“If party agents can sit inside polling booths on voting day, and if BLA2 representatives are allowed during the distribution of enumeration forms, why is BLA2 being barred during SIR hearings? Why is the Election Commission refusing to increase the number of hearing centres? When we asked for a formal circular on this issue, the Commission flatly refused because it knows that the moment a circular is issued, the matter will land in court,” he said.

“The truth is clear: votes are not being stolen through EVMs; they are being stolen through the manipulation of voter lists,” Banerjee added.

He further accused the ECI of maligning West Bengal by repeatedly raising the issue of infiltration.

“Before the SIR began, they claimed Bengal was flooded with one crore Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. Today, after 58 lakh names have been struck off the draft list, the Election Commission is silent. How many of them are actually Bangladeshis or Rohingyas? If the ECI has the courage, let it reveal the truth. If it doesn’t, it must apologise to the people of Bengal,” Banerjee said.

–IANS

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