Pimpri-Chinchwad police invoke MCOCA against international cyber gang over fake trading app fraud
Nine members of a gang that cheated elderly people of crores with promises of high share market returns face MCOCA action; six have been arrested.
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Pimpri-Chinchwad police have taken stringent action against an international cyber gang that cheated elderly people of crores of rupees by luring them with promises of high profits in the share market. Under the guidance of Police Commissioner Vinay Kumar Chaubey, nine accused in the gang have been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The gang is said to include doctors, chartered accountants and engineers.
This is the second major action this year by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate invoking MCOCA against cyber criminals.
The case began with a complaint registered at the cyber police station. An elderly man had been cheated of a full Rs 86 lakh through a fake trading app. Police carried out a technical investigation and froze Rs 28 lakh during the probe. On a court order, this amount has been returned to the complainants.
Busting the case, police arrested six people from Pune, Latur, Ahilyanagar, Navi Mumbai and Hyderabad. All of them are described as highly educated young people, holding degrees such as engineering, CA and BHMS. The search for the remaining accused continues.
According to police, the gang committed cyber crime while in contact with a main conspirator based in Cambodia. The money from the fraud was sent in virtual currency (cryptocurrency) such as USDT, which was creating a major threat to the country's economy.
The gang also faces cases of extortion, dacoity, drug trafficking and fraud in Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Gujarat. Considering the seriousness of this organised crime, Additional Police Commissioner Sarang Awad ordered that MCOCA sections be added. A team led by Assistant Police Commissioner Rohini Bankar is conducting further investigation.
The names and details of the six arrested are as follows: Tejas Dnyanoba Lokhande (24, Class 12 pass, Markalgaon, Pune); Avinash Dnyanoba Baklikar (28, BHMS, Latur); Harshal Dilip Bora (34, BBA, Ahilyanagar); Sonu Harish Sharma (21, Class 9 pass, Navi Mumbai); Alec alias Gaurav Ramesh Gadge (24, engineer, Mumbai); and Akhil Srinivasrao Nellur (24, CA, Hyderabad, Telangana).
