The Gurugram Police made a significant announcement on Monday regarding the arrest of 11 individuals involved in cybercrime gangs that cheated a total of ₹125.62 crores from over 17,000 victims across India. These arrests were made over a span of two months, with a total of 21 members of these gangs being apprehended from various parts of the country, according to police officials.
The suspects were mainly found to be engaged in investment and parcel frauds, resulting in substantial losses for victims, including at least 11 residents of Gurugram who fell prey to these scams. Cybercrime cases were registered in both the east and south police stations in Gurugram, with a total of eight cases recorded at the cybercrime (east) station and three at the cybercrime (south) station.
Assistant commissioner of police (cybercrime) Priyanshu Dewan shed light on the investigation process, revealing that the fraud came to light with the help of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). During the course of the investigation, a total of 16 mobile phones and seven SIM cards were seized from the suspects. Analysis of the information retrieved from these devices unveiled that the suspects, who were associated with 11 different gangs, managed to cheat ₹125.62 crores from a staggering 17,460 victims nationwide.
Dewan further elaborated on the scope of the arrests, highlighting that the arrested suspects were named in 672 FIRs filed across various states, with 40 FIRs alone from Haryana and 11 from Gurugram. The arrests were directly linked to the investigation of 11 cases registered in Gurugram, with 20 suspects being apprehended within a span of two months and an additional suspect arrested in August from different locations across India.
The ongoing investigation is diligently working towards uncovering the money trail, as there are suspicions that some of the funds might have been diverted to foreign accounts. Dewan emphasized that more arrests are anticipated in the coming days, which could potentially increase the total amount of money cheated from unsuspecting victims.
Among those arrested were individuals like Sukhvinder Singh Saran from Udham Singh Nagar, Sachin Kumar, Enam Kumar, and Pankaj Saluja, Pradeep Kumar from Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, Virender Kumar from Nagor, Rajasthan, Deepanshu Kumar from Delhi, Dilraj Bairwan, and Dheeraj Kumar, Ashwani Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, and Anish Kumar from Uttarakhand, among others. Earlier in August, Mukesh Lakhanlal Sahu from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, was also arrested in connection with the cybercrime activities.
These arrests mark a significant breakthrough in tackling cybercrime activities and serve as a warning to individuals involved in such fraudulent practices. The Gurugram Police’s relentless efforts in combating cybercrimes continue to bring justice to the victims who have been duped of their hard-earned money.