The alleged kingpin of a racket that collected details of bank accounts, changed the passwords and email IDs and sold the new passwords and mail IDs to swindlers was arrested in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Chirag Kapoor was picked up from Bengaluru’s Anjanpura early on Thursday. Police said they had been trying to trace him in connection with cyber fraud since September.
“Three routers, several hard discs, a landline phone, a laptop, cheque books, PAN cards and rubber stamps in the names of various companies and organisations were recovered from his possession,” said a senior police
officer.
“We had on September 28 busted a makeshift office of Kapoor’s gang in Calcutta. He had since been evading arrest.”
The police started investigating the racket after a woman lodged a complaint with the cybercrime unit of Kolkata Police on June 17 alleging that she had been duped out of Rs 47 lakh.
The woman was told over the phone that her credentials and documents had been used to send a parcel containing contraband and that she was under the police scanner for money laundering.
The woman was asked to make payments to various accounts to escape arrest.
“While investigating the case, a money trail of Rs 7.4 lakh, part of the sum the victim had paid, was traced to a bank account in the name of ‘Uma Burney, owner of Brian Burst Robotics’,” the officer said.
“Probing deeper we stumbled upon a racket involved in opening bank accounts in fictitious names.”
In September, the police arrested eight persons involved in the racket from Anandapur, Patuli and Narendrapur.
SIM cards, mobile phones, lease agreements and rubber stamps were seized from
them.
Based on their statements during interrogation, two more persons were rounded up, including one in Delhi.
“But Chirag Kapoor, the prime accused and the kingpin of the racket, evaded us. He has finally been arrested,” the officer said.
Usually, the accounts opened in fictitious names would be closed immediately after the entire amount was deposited by a victim, the police said. A new account would be opened to collect fresh payments.