The police said that while they have custody of one accused arrested in Goa, the second accused — arrested in Delhi — has petitioned the courts against police custody.
Published Jan 07, 2024 | 12:06 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 07, 2024 | 12:06 AM
The Hyderabad City Police addressing the media (Supplied)
The Cyber Crime Wing of the Hyderabad City Police told reporters on Saturday, 6 January, that they had apprehended two persons involved in cybercrimes — trading fraud and online gaming fraud.
The authorities exposed the nefarious activities of these two accused, who allegedly orchestrated their fraudulent schemes from different corners of the country, while their victims were citizens of Hyderabad.
It is to be noted that the Hyderabad City Police saw an increase in the number of cybercrime cases in 2023, where there were 2,735 cases registered against 2,249 in 2022.
The first fraudster, Hitesh Goyal, is a 36-year-old resident of Haryana. He was arrested by the Telangana Police one week ago in Delhi, where he set up a hub for his activities, said the cops.
His scheme allegedly involved providing various bank accounts and merchant IDs to unsuspecting victims in collusion with the organisers of online gaming websites, notably the notorious Dafabet.
According to Hyderabad City Commissioner of Police (CP) K Sreenivasa, the arrest followed a complaint from a victim in Somajiguda, Hyderabad, who was cheated of ₹70 lakh through the www.dafabet.com website.
Goyal allegedly collaborated with his partner-in-crime, Sanjeev, who has multiple operations in Dubai, Hong Kong, and China, to orchestrate fraudulent transactions through Dafabet.
The Hyderabad police team cracked the case and arrested the accused in four months, they said.
The second fraudster, Ronak Tanna (35), was originally from Vasco da Gama, South Goa, but was now living in Nagpur.
He was arrested by the Hyderabad City Police team in Goa about 10 days ago. The police team conducted its investigation in Goa and Mumbai where the case unfolded before arresting him.
According to Sreenivasa, Tanna targeted unsuspecting individuals with promises of lucrative returns through a fictitious firm named Unity Stocks.
Falling for his lies, a woman in Hyderabad sold her father’s property and was cheated out of more than ₹3.16 crore, which she transferred to the accused’s bank accounts.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crimes) D Kavitha told South First, “The Telangana police took Ronak Tanna into custody on Saturday, 6 January, for a period of four days. Hitesh Goyal, on the other hand, has been approaching courts with petitions against us getting custody of him. His petition was dismissed in the Supreme Court as well. We will act according to the law and will soon get custody of him.”
Detailing the modus operandi of Tanna, the CP explained that the Unity Stocks fraud unfolded as he collaborated with individuals across India, including one Judith Gonsalves and one Sana Mohammed Qureshi, to collect bank accounts.
Sreenivasa said that the accused then brokered deals with the other accused — Arjun, Yug, and Nitin — who are residing in Dubai by taking a commission of ₹1-2 lakh for each account. He facilitated easy gains through the supply of these bank accounts.
In a disturbing revelation, it was found that Tanna supplied over 95 accounts to Dubai nationals through Arjun, Yug, and Nitin, leading to 83 cases being registered across the country.
The accused has been a habitual offender, the commissioner said, adding that there are numerous cases against him in different states.
The CP also said that the Hyderabad victim stated that the accused contacted her and insisted that she invest in the stock market with 100 percent high returns on a company named Unity Stocks.
“He allegedly told her that if she invested maximum money and held it for six months, then she would get a minimum of 30 percent returns on the invested amount. The complainant believed his version and transferred an amount of ₹3,16,34,764 into the bank accounts provided by the accused,” the commissioner said.
In the online gaming fraud case, the police seized cash of ₹1.4 crore, 23 mobile phones, three hard discs, two laptops, 36 bank chequebooks, and 52 debit cards.
In the trading fraud case, the seizures included two laptops, six mobile phones, five bank chequebooks, six mobile SIM cards, and 15 debit cards from different banks.
“We could seize only the ₹20 lakh left in the accused’s bank account and the case is under investigation. We will approach the Goa police and Nagpur police, as has been operating from these places, so that we can retrieve the stolen amounts and return them to the victims,” said Commissioner Sreenivasa.
The Commissioner further shed light on the alarming trend of online credential misuse nowadays. While online transactions are preferred because of their speed, expediency, and customer satisfaction, Commissioner Sreenivasa emphasised the critical role of credentials, passwords, and OTPs in online transactions.
He cautioned against the sale of bank account credentials, highlighting their utilisation by criminals to evade detection during police investigations.
