Police bust bogus call centre operating from Navi Mumbai mall and targeting people in US
FIR against 23 persons
Thane (PTI): Police have busted a bogus call centre operating from a mall in Vashi area of Navi Mumbai township and registered an FIR against 23 people in this connection, including its owner and manager, an official said on Sunday.
The accused posed as representatives of US companies and sold medicines like Viagra and Cialis to people there. They obtained details of credit/debit cards of the people and cheated them, the official from Vashi police station said.
Several gadgets, besides hard discs and electrical accessories worth Rs 3.97 lakh were recovered following a raid at the call centre on Saturday, he said.
The accused made outbound calls using VCdial/Nextiva software. They made the calls through gateway bypass and VOIP, the official said, adding the accused were caught red-handed while indulging in such acts.
The call center owner allegedly purchased the data of people in the US from a person based at Malad in neighbouring Mumbai and the employees used pseudo names to call up those people to sell the drugs.
The drugs sale proceeds were credited into the account of an Indian company at a bank branch in Kharghar area, the official said.
An FIR was registered against 23 people under Indian Penal Code sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) as well as provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Telegraph Act, the official said.
On Saturday, the Navi Mumbai police also busted a similar bogus call centre operating from a mall in Nerul area and registered a case against 13 persons in that connection.
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Delhi polls: Kejriwal claims BJP to name Ramesh Bidhuri as CM face, challenges him to public debate
New Delhi, Jan 11: AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday claimed that the BJP has picked former MP Ramesh Bidhuri as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections and will soon make the announcement.
Addressing a press conference here, the former chief minister also challenged Bidhuri to a public debate.
"We have come to know from reliable sources that the BJP is going to name Ramesh Bidhuri as its CM candidate in the next one or two days," Kejriwal claimed.
"There should be an open public debate between the chief ministerial candidates of the AAP and the BJP, whether it is Ramesh Bidhuri or anyone else," he said.
"Yes, we are challenging the BJP to a debate," Kejriwal said in response to questions from reporters.
The BJP has fielded Bidhuri from Kalkaji assembly constituency. He will take on AAP candidate and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who is seeking re-election from the seat.
On Friday, Atishi also claimed that the BJP was going to name Bidhuri as its CM face and criticised the party for picking a leader who "hurls the most abuses".
Bidhuri's recent remarks about Atishi triggered a controversy. He said Atishi "changed her father" by changing her surname from Marlena to Singh.
He also drew flak for his remarks about Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi. He said he would make roads in his constituency smooth like "Priyanka Gandhi's cheeks". He expressed regret following an uproar.
The 70-member Delhi Assembly will go to polls on February 5 and the counting of votes will be taken up on February 8.
The AAP, which won 67 seats in the 2015 polls and 62 in the 2020 polls, is eyeing a third consecutive term in the capital. The BJP won three seats in 2015 and eight in 2020 while the Congress drew a blank.
