Mumbai police raid fake call centre in Navi Mumbai; 10 held

Mumbai, Jan 27 (PTI) The Mumbai police have raided a fake call centre in Maharashtra's Raigad district and arrested 10 persons for allegedly duping people on the pretext of helping them with loans under a central scheme, an official said on Saturday.

During the recent raid, the police also seized cash and valuables worth nearly Rs 58 lakh from the fraudsters who were operating from a flat in Panvel, he said.

The official said that the accused used to cheat people promising them loans under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana. Launched in 2015, PMMY provides loans up to Rs 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small or microenterprises.

The police action came on a complaint by one Meena Mirgule (44), he said.

The woman said she came across an advertisement on Facebook about loans with 2 per cent interest under PMMY. She then called on the mobile number given in the ad.

Mirgule told the police that the persons on the other side asked her to provide many documents and also made her shell out Rs 40,000. Soon, she realised that she had been duped and approached the Andheri police.

Using various inputs, including technical evidence, the police busted the fake call centre in Panvel on Wednesday and took 10 persons into custody, he said.

The police have recovered 38 mobile phones, 61 debit cards, 20 chequebooks, 37 passbooks, and 48 sim cards from the alleged fraudsters. They also seized cash and valuables worth Rs 58 lakh from the spot, he added.

All ten have been arrested under Indian Penal Code sections, including 420 (cheating) and 120-B (conspiracy), and the IT Act, the official added. PTI ZA NR