Maharashtra police bust fake call centre cheating people in Canada; 23 arrested
Palghar (PTI): Police have busted a fake call centre operating in Maharashtra's Palghar district and allegedly cheating people in Canada and threatening them to make payments for online purchase orders, officials said on Sunday.
Twenty three people have so far been arrested in this connection, they said.
Acting on a tip-off, the police raided the call centre, operating from six flats at a housing complex in Nane village of Wada taluka to evade coming under the scanner of security agencies, on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Balasaheb Patil said.
The accused made use of different applications like X-Lite, Eyebeam and X-ten and illegally obtained the contact details of various citizens of Canada, he said.
They would call up people about online purchase orders, which were not actually made by the victims, and direct them to a number of the fake call centre.
Those working at the call centre were given a specific script to communicate with the victims. If the victims avoided them, the accused threatened them saying criminal and legal action will be taken against them, and forced them to make payments through different means including Bitcoin, the official said.
The accused made "voice calls and robotic calls" to avoid being identified, he said.
They cheated a number of people from Canada, the police said, adding they suspect the accused made calls to people in other countries also.
Following the raid, the police arrested 23 people from the call centre. At least four more persons were involved in the racket going on for long and efforts were on to trace them, the official said.
A case was registered against the accused under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Information Technology Act and the Indian Telegraph Act, Wada police station's senior inspector Suresh Kadam said.
A probe was on into the case, the police said.
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Human skeletal remains found in Bengaluru outskirts
Bengaluru (PTI): Human skeletal remains, including a skull, suspected to be that of a woman were discovered in and around a lake on outskirts of the city, police said on Saturday.
The matter came to light after shepherds spotted the remains near the lake at Mugalur near Sarjapur while grazing cattle in the area and alerted the police, they said.
During the inspection, investigators found bones scattered across the dried lake bed and nearby areas, a senior police officer said, adding there was suspicion that the remains must be at least three months old.
Police suspect the victim may have drowned in the lake earlier, with the skeletal remains surfacing after water levels receded significantly during the summer.
Officials also suspect stray dogs could have dragged some of the remains to surrounding areas after the lake dried up further.
With pieces of a saree recovered from the spot, police suspect that it could have been of a woman.
Forensic experts and the Scene of Crime Officer team visited the spot and collected the skeletal remains and other evidence for examination.
A case has been registered and the remains, along with other evidence, have been sent for forensic analysis, the police officer said.
The identity of the deceased and the exact cause of death are yet to be established, he added.
