Delhi-based gang nabbed for misusing pavement dwellers’ IDs to commit bank fraud, Rs 8L seized

The gang bought Aadhaar cards and other identity documents of pavement dwellers for Rs 500 to Rs 20,000 to buy sim cards and open bank accounts in their names without their knowledge to avoid getting traced, said cybercrime police. 

The accused, Ashok Kumar, his wife, Kamatchi, their aides Raj Vel and Abhishek Paul ran a call centre at Janakpuri in Delhi to make calls to victims, posing as representatives of financial firms such as Bajaj, Varalakshmi Finance and Tamizhar Finance. The bank fraud prevention wing of the CCB registered a case based on a complaint of one Kanakalakshmi of Pallikaranai, who had complained in July 2020, that she lost Rs 82,000 to the fraudsters on the promise of getting a loan. Police said that the gang had cheated people in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh as well. 

After investigation, the team rushed to Delhi and camped there for 10 days before nabbing the accused on July 16. They were produced before a magistrate in Dwarka court and were brought to Chennai on Monday. Police first secured Abhishek Paul as his bank account was used to transfer the fraudulent money. Based on his inputs, others were arrested. Rs 8 lakh, mobile phones and documents were seized from them. 

“The accused have completed school, except Abhishek Paul, a degree holder. The couple who had worked in the fraudulent call centre earlier decided to cheat people and rented a room to make calls to people seeking loans. Abhishek Paul helped them open bank accounts and Raj Vel bought the SIM cards,” said an official. Ashok Kumar and Kamatchi are second generations of Tamil families, who settled in Dabri Mor in Delhi. Further investigation is on whether the gang has cheated in the guise of erecting mobile phone towers of a particular network as Raj Vel owned related documents. Further investigation is on.