New Delhi, Sep 3: The Enforcement Directorate Saturday said it is conducting raids at Bengaluru premises of online payment gateways like Razorpay, Paytm and Cashfree as part of an ongoing probe against "illegal" instant smartphone-based loans "controlled" by Chinese persons.

The searches were launched Friday at six premises in Karnataka's capital city, it said in a statement.

The search operation is in progress, the Enforcement Directorate said.

The federal probe agency said it has seized Rs 17 crore worth funds kept in "merchant IDs and bank accounts of these Chinese persons-controlled entities", during the raids.

The modus operandi of these entities is that they use forged documents of Indians and make them dummy directors leading to generation of "proceeds of crime", it alleged.

"These entities are controlled/operated by Chinese persons," it said.

"It has come to notice that the said entities were doing their suspected/illegal business through various merchant IDs/accounts held with payment gateways/banks."

"The premises of Razorpay Pvt Ltd, Cashfree Payments, Paytm Payment Services Ltd and entities controlled/operated by Chinese persons are covered in the search operation," the ED said.

The entities under investigation were generating proceeds of crime through various merchant IDs/accounts held with payment gateways/banks and they are also not operating from the addresses given on the MCA (ministry of corporate affairs) website/registered address and they have "fake" addresses, the agency said.

The ED said its money laundering case is based on at least 18 FIRs filed by the Bengaluru Police cyber crime station against "numerous entities/persons in connection with their involvement in extortion and harassment of the public who had availed small amount of loans through the mobile apps being run by those entities/persons."

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Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.

The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.

The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.

“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.

“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.

Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.

Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.

“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.