2 held for duping people through fake website for applying for voter ID cards: Police
New Delhi(PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly running a fake government website through which they established an online network across the country for duping people on the pretext of helping them to apply for voter identity cards, police said on Wednesday.
Ankit Kumar Pal (26) and Manmohan Singh (22), who were arrested from Uttar Pradesh, were the masterminds behind the fraud, they added.
More than 10,000 people had fallen prey to the fake website -- voteridcard.ebharatseva.in -- police said.
The accused duo had established an online network for luring people to apply for voter identity cards. They used to target gullible victims from all over the country and after the initial enrolment, used to charge Rs 650 from them.
They had also promoted the fake website by paying money for Google advertisements so that it would appear as a "top search" option, police said.
A case was registered at the Rajinder Nagar police station in November on the basis of a complaint from one of the victims, who alleged that he had to get some changes effected in his voter ID card for which he searched online and came across the fake website, a senior police officer said.
When he visited the website, he was directed to a payment gateway for a payment of Rs 650 as mandatory charges. After making the payment, he received e-mails from info@ebharatseva.in and no-reply@razorpay.com, stating that the payment was successful, his application would be processed and an executive would contact him shortly, the officer added.
However, as there was no further response from the website, the victim got suspicious and subsequently, found out that the official website of the Election Commission of India (ECI) is "voterportal.eci.gov.in".
"During the course of the enquiry, the money trail as well as the website registration details were obtained and it was established that these activities were being carried out by some fraudster on a very large scale. The case was handed over to the cyber police station of the district," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shweta Chauhan said.
The probe revealed that the payment was processed through a payment gateway, which was further credited to a bank account registered in the name of a cyber cafe.
The proprietor of the cyber cafe was identified as Manmohan Singh, a resident of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, the officer said, adding that he was arrested.
Based on the information provided by Singh, Pal, a resident of Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, was also nabbed, she said.
Pal told the police that one of their associates, whom he had met in Noida while looking for a job, came up with the idea of cheating people on the pretext of helping them apply for voter identity cards, Chauhan said.
The associate had created the fake website and the payment gateway that was registered in Singh's name, she added.
There were transactions involving huge amounts of money from the bank accounts of the accused and efforts are on to trace others involved in the case, the police said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
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.
