Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Nov 15: The Konaje police have arrested five individuals in connection with a cybercrime case involving a 'part-time job' scam that defrauded a victim of Rs 28,18,065. The arrested include four individuals from Mysuru’s Udayagiri area and one from Bengaluru’s Neelasandra.
Syed Mahmood, Shuhaib, Mohammad Shariq Ahmed, Mohsin Ahmed Khan and Mohammad Azam are the arrested accused.
The case was initiated after a complaint filed on July 21, 2024, detailed how the complainant received a WhatsApp message about a part-time job opportunity. The message included a link to the Telegram app, which, once opened, led to further instructions. The complainant was told to watch a video, send a screenshot, and subsequently received Rs 130 credited to their bank account. However, when informed that the video was incorrect, the complainant was manipulated into making additional transactions under the pretense of rectifying the submission, eventually transferring Rs 28,18,065 to various accounts.
Investigations led by inspector Rajendra B from Konaje police station uncovered that the key accused, Suhaib, had connections with Dastagir, who provided him with bank accounts and SIM cards in exchange for promises of bank loans and payments of Rs 10,000 per account. Shuhaib obtained two accounts from Karnataka Bank’s Rajendra Nagar branch and Canara Bank’s NR Mohalla branch in Mysuru and provided them to Dastagir for Rs 20,000.
Further probing revealed that Syed Mahmood, a product trainer at Airtel, was also involved. He bought SIM cards and provided them to Suhaib, later surrendering two bank accounts for Rs 20,000. Other individuals, including Mohsin Ahmad Khan and Mohammad Shariq Ahmad, were similarly approached and convinced to provide bank accounts under the pretense of a loan scheme.
It was also found that Mohammad Azam from Bengaluru opened an account at Punjab National Bank’s MG Road branch and sold it for Rs 3,000.
The inquiry revealed that these accused were selling bank accounts for financial gain, contributing to the cybercrime network. The police also noted that residents in areas such as Mysuru’s Nehru Nagar, Shantinagar, Rajiv Nagar, and Bengaluru’s Neelasandra were involved in similar activities.
This operation was conducted under the directives of city police commissioner Anupam Agarwal (IPS) and guided by deputy commissioners Siddharth Goyal and Dinesh Kumar, with support from assistant commissioner of police Dhanya N Nayak. The Konaje police team included PSI Puneeth Gawankar, PSI Ashok, and station personnel.