Mehsana: The Cybercrime Cell of CID Crime on Wednesday arrested five individuals from Mumbai for operating a fake call centre. The accused, all from Mehsana, are accused of cheating people by offering stock market tips.

The arrests followed a complaint filed through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Ashok Patel, from Surendranagar, stated that he received a call from a person claiming to represent a firm called Share Analyst and persuading him to invest in the stock market. The accused promised high returns on investments in various company shares. Initially, Patel was convinced to invest a small amount like Rs 35,000, but later the fraudsters convinced him to invest larger sums, claiming that offline trading would yield even higher profits. Ultimately, Patel invested a total of Rs 9.5 lakh, but when no returns were received, he realized he had been defrauded and approached the police.

The Cybercrime Cell launched an investigation and traced the accused’s phone numbers to D-Wing of JP North Aviva on Mira Road, Mumbai. During a raid, Shaikh Mohammad Jahid Allahrakha, Shakilkhan Yakubkhan Chauhan, Faizan Mohammad Khalid Mohammad Chauhan, Mohammad Junaid Allaudin Shaikh, and Ramiz Nasir Sipai were arrested.

The police also seized 13 mobile phones, 4 debit cards, and a list of potential victims. The gang has been charged with cheating and fraud under relevant sections of the IPC and the IT Act. DeshGujarat