Call centre luring people with loans busted, six held

VADODARA: The detection of crime branch (DCB) busted a call centre racket and arrested six persons from the city on Wednesday.
The crime branch sleuths had received a tip-off about the call centre that was operating from a commercial complex near Natubhai Circle on Gotri Road. They raided the centre and nabbed the employees who were working there. All the six persons were later granted bail by a local court.
According to police, the accused used to call up people on their mobile phone and offered loans to them. “They used to call up people on behalf of American companies like GE Capital and E Loan and offer them loans with attractive schemes. They used to call from various mobile applications,” police said.
Once the targeted person agreed, the accused used to seek their bank account number and other details which were then forwarded to kingpin of the racket, Krunal Rai. Rai used to ask the victims to send money through wire transfer service for processing the loan. Many gullible citizens used to transfer money only to realize later that they had been cheated.
Police arrested Amir Pathan, Vishal Saumya, Shrikumar Yadav, Shahrukh Khinchi, Rahul Prajapati and Sajid Khan Pathan from the spot. All the six are residents of Ahmedabad. Apart from Rai, two other accused identified as Hemant Pal and Sohel Ansari are expected to be arrested within a couple of days, police said.
Eight laptops, some cash and other gadgets were also seized from the spot. “We are now investigating as to how many people this gang has cheated and how much money they have siphoned,” a police official added.