Greater Noida, May 14: The Bisrakh police and cyber cell team in Gautam Buddh Nagar have uncovered a major cyber fraud operation that duped individuals of crores of rupees under the guise of providing subsidy loans through the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). Six suspects have been arrested in connection with this case. Authorities seized 18 keypad mobile phones, six smartphones, and 15 registers related to calling data from the accused.
According to police, the operation was conducted on May 13 based on manual intelligence and confidential information. The suspects were apprehended from the rooftop of Krishna County Tower A in Sector 1. The arrested individuals have been identified as Dharmraj Rathore, Ravi Kumar, Kishan Rathore, Akshay, Kiran Nair, and Kiran Babu Rathore, all residents of Bijapur and Vijaypur areas in Karnataka.
During police interrogation, the suspects revealed that they ran attractive advertisements related to Aadhaar and PAN cards on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms. When individuals clicked on these ads, they were shown the mobile numbers of the accused. The suspects posed as fake loan officers, luring victims into believing they could secure subsidy-based home loans under the PMEGP.
The fraudsters collected amounts ranging from two to four lakh rupees under various pretexts, including file charges and processing fees, which were deposited into different bank accounts.
Police stated that this gang had targeted numerous individuals across the country, resulting in significant financial losses. It was also revealed that the suspects used keypad mobile phones to conceal their identities and frequently changed SIM cards. The operation was allegedly directed by a ‘boss’ who maintained contact with the suspects via mobile phones.
The money obtained from the fraud was transferred to various bank accounts. The police have registered a case against the accused at the Bisrakh police station and are currently searching for the mastermind of the gang and other accomplices. Investigations are also underway to determine if this network has connections to other states in the country.