Noida (UP) (PTI): A fake call centre allegedly cheating people by offering bogus insurance policies and false promises of bonuses in exchange for payments was busted in Noida on Tuesday, leading to the arrest of 13 persons, police said.

The modus operandi of the racket allegedly involved callers posing as insurance agents contacting policyholders and potential customers and luring them into transferring money into bank accounts controlled by the accused, an official said.

A joint team of the Cyber Crime Police Station, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and Sector 63 police carried out the operation and busted the fake call centre operating from H-198 in Sector 63, police said.

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During the raid, police recovered two laptops, a modem, a PNT (positioning, navigation, and timing) telecaller device, 31 mobile phones, 721 data sheets and two diaries, they added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) Shavvya Goyal said during interrogation, the accused revealed they would contact people claiming to represent insurance companies and persuade them to renew lapsed policies, buy new ones, or claim promised bonuses.

"Although they claimed to work for only two insurance companies, the accused procured data of other companies' policyholders from the market and contacted them using multiple fake phone numbers and bank accounts," Goyal said, adding that the illegal proceeds were later shared among the gang members.

The arrested persons have been identified as Chhatrapal Sharma, Satyam, Sameer, Raj Salauddin, Ishwar Karmali, Suhail, Vivek Kumar, Sumit Kumar, Mohd Asif, Suhail, Rajiv Kumar, Mithilesh and Hariom.

An FIR has been registered under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 336 (forgery), 340 (forgery by documents) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under provisions of the Information Technology Act at Sector 63 police station.

Police said Chhatrapal Sharma (32), a resident of Greater Noida West and CEO of Grow UP Management Solution OPC Pvt Ltd, has a criminal history, with multiple cases registered against him.

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Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.

The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.

On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."

His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.

In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”

Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”

Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.

After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.

“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.

“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”

Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.

Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay. 

Chaotic end to a poor season

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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.

It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.

Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.

Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.