Baghpat (PTI): An interstate cyber-fraud racket involved in duping people on the pretext of providing bank jobs was busted by police in this Uttar Pradesh district on Sunday with the arrest of seven people, including two women, officials said.

Police said the accused were running a fake call centre and luring job seekers from several states by issuing forged appointment letters and fabricated agreements in the name of bank recruitment, collecting large sums of money in return.

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Twelve mobile phones, two laptops, two SIM cards on fake names, several forged appointment letters and agreements, 15 bank passbooks, two chequebooks, UPI QR codes, ATM cards and 11 other cards were seized from the possession of the accused, police said, adding that the data of around 6,450 people from different states was found stored in the laptops.

According to the officials, the gang misused information obtained from online platforms, such as OLX and job-related websites, to target unsuspecting victims.

The racket was uncovered following complaints received on the Union home ministry's "Pratibimb" portal and subsequent technical surveillance.

Investigations revealed at least 20 complaints from various states, including Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Meghalaya.

The arrested accused were identified as Mohit Kumar, Puneet Kumar, Vardaan, Anuj Kumar and Akshay, besides the two women.

They were arrested at around 11:30 am from under the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in the Kotwali Baghpat area.

A case has been registered at the cyber crime police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66D of the Information Technology Act, police said.

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Bhopal (PTI): On the first day of the commercial run of the Metro services in Bhopal on Sunday, hundreds of residents enthusiastically took rides, expressing confidence that it will save time and provide relief from traffic jams.

An official said that the Metro’s first service began at 9 am from the AIIMS station, and by 6 pm, 5,731 people had travelled on the new mass-transit corridor.

He said that people, along with their family members, had been lining up for tickets since early morning. Several users were seen taking selfies and photos inside the Metro rakes and at stations.

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Earlier on Saturday, Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav inaugurated the Metro service by flagging off a train from Subhash Nagar station on a 7.5-kilometre stretch, called the “Priority Corridor”.

With this, Bhopal became the 26th city in the country and the second city in Madhya Pradesh, after Indore, to have the Metro service.

Rao Singh, who took a Metro ride, told PTI Videos that besides saving time and money, the new mode of transport will provide relief from traffic jams and pollution.

Another passenger, who identified himself as Chetan, said he was happy that Bhopal is now on the “Metro list”.

Office-goers will benefit a lot due to the Metro service, said a young man named Akshay.

While the estimated cost of the 30.8-km-long Bhopal Metro project is Rs 10,033 crore, a sum of Rs 2,225 crore was spent on the ‘Priority Corridor’, according to officials.