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Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Good cop, bad cop': How fake NCB officers duped 62-year-old woman of Rs 77 lakh
Last August, a 62-year-old woman was surfing an online drug store's website for her monthly prescription of sleeping pills. It was a routine for her to order medicines online every month for a neurological ailment. However, her latest search landed her in trouble, which ended in an alleged digital arrest fraud of Rs 77 lakh as two men — allegedly posing as officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) — played 'good cop, bad cop', said police. After she reported her ordeal to the police, it took investigators nine months to trace the accused who had transferred a major portion of the money in his bank account. His arrest led the police to four more accomplices, all of whom were arrested by July 1, said officers. A resident of Vasant Kunj and a former teacher, the woman told police she had received the first call from the alleged fraudsters last August. A man posing as an NCB officer triggered alarm by claiming that she had ordered 'banned drugs'. The woman who lives alone panicked. 'The caller told her that the drug she ordered was banned in India and that the NCB suspected she was helping the supply of these drugs in Delhi,' a senior police officer, privy to the investigation details, said. Transfer a certain amount of money to verify the bank account details or face an arrest warrant — Neeru felt helpless when the caller gave her these two options. Desperate to prove her innocence, Neeru had transferred a total of Rs 3 lakh in separate tranches to multiple accounts by September 10, 2024,. 'She then waited for the next call, hoping to be cleared of all charges,' a police officer said. After 10 days, she got another call. But this time it was the 'good cop'. 'The man on the call, who also posed as an NCB officer, told her that he knew that she was innocent. He told her to stay calm and let him work with the NCB to get her money back,' the officer explained. The 62-year-old received Rs 20,000 back into her account two days later — she was allegedly assured that this was the first of the many transactions. 'The 'good cop' had gained her trust,' the officer added. She got a video call on WhatsApp after two days. 'This time, four men were on call. She was asked to share her screen and open her bank account after which all her money would be returned. As she trusted the man who had posed as the 'good cop', she followed the instructions,' the officer explained. Trouble, however, deepened for the elderly woman as her netbanking credentials were allegedly stolen. The video call ended with the fraudsters allegedly telling the woman that they were satisfied with the probe. Soon after, her worst nightmare turned true. Multiple debit messages flashed on her mobile phone — transactions of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and so on… When she called up the man posing as the NCB officer, his phone was off. She finally sought help from a relative and registered a complaint at the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSCO) Unit of the Delhi Police's Special Cell on September 26, 2024. A team under ACP Manoj Kumar and Sub Inspector Karamvir started a probe into the money trail. 'The call detail records and IMEI details of beneficiary account holders were obtained from the technical service providers and banks concerned. During further investigation it was found that around Rs 48 lakh from the duped amount was further transferred to a particular account,' the officer explained. This account belonged to Akhilesh (23), a resident of Nuh in Haryana. The police raided his home and found that he had left for Delhi—on the pretext of preparing for judicial services examinations. Multiple locations popped up when police tried to trace him through his mobile location. Investigators finally reached a breakthrough in June when his location was traced in the hub of government exam aspirants — Mukherjee Nagar. 'On June 24, Akhilesh was traced living at a rented apartment in Indira Vikas Colony, Mukharjee Nagar. He tried to flee but he was overpowered. He was arrested and his disclosure statement was recorded wherein he stated that he received the cheated amount on the direction of his associates — Amjad, Saahid and Shakeel. He also trapped the victim to share her phone screen on video call and gained access to the victim's bank account to transfer funds to his own bank account,' the officer underlined. On June 27, a raid was conducted in Punhana, Haryana, and Amjad and Shahid were arrested as well. Amjad, the police said, was the man who pretended to be the 'good cop and the woman's well-wisher'. 'Amjad disclosed that he and his brother-in-law Shahid, along with his friend Shakeel, called the victim and threatened her of arrest. They also disclosed involvement of the other accused, Hamid, saying that he was the fourth fake NCB officer,' the police officer added. On July 1, the police raided Hamid's home in Rajasthan's Deeg. Shakeel was also at his home. However, the police said that Hamid's family and the villagers tried to shield the duo, giving Shakeel a chance to flee. But the police chased them down and arrested the duo. So far, the elderly woman has got just Rs 3 lakh from the duped amount. The police are now tracking a string of bank accounts used by the accused. Some of the confiscated phones, as per officers, also have evidence of sextortion from other victims and investigation is on.
Time of India
26 minutes ago
- Time of India
RO/ARO exam held peacefully, 60% skip test
1 2 Lucknow: The examination for the posts of review officer/assistant review officer (RO/ARO) was conducted smoothly and peacefully at 2,382 centres across the state on Sunday. According to officials, nearly 60% candidates skipped the examination as around 4.5 lakh students took the test out of total 10.7 lakh who had registered for the examination. UPPSC secretary Ashok Kumar said that Ayodhya recorded highest attendance with 52.8% candidates appearing for the examination, while Rampur registered the lowest at 25.8%. Participation in other major cities included 47.6% in Prayagraj, 48.9% in Lucknow, 44.4% in Kanpur, and 49.2% in Varanasi. "The highest number of 139 examination centres were set up in Kanpur, followed by Lucknow (129) and Prayagraj (106)," he said. "Cutting-edge security measures — including AI-based alert system, biometric verification, CCTV surveillance, and monitoring by the STF— ensured zero irregularities across the state. Dedicated teams monitored coaching centres and flagged suspicious behaviour to the authorities," an official said. "A special social media monitoring cell also kept a close watch on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram to curb the spread of rumours or leaks," he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Timeless & Modern: Unveiling a 96-Year-Old's Vision! Read More Undo Armed security and senior officials oversaw every step, from retrieval of papers from the treasury to the submission of answer sheets. To ensure secure identification at the entry point, biometric authentication and facial recognition technology were deployed. A complete ban was enforced on electronic devices, while an AI-powered alert system monitored for any suspicious activity and triggered instant warnings. The candidate identification and admission process for the RO/ARO exam was made entirely digital and foolproof. Centre allocation was carried out through computer-based randomisation to eliminate any scope for bias. The e-admit card was integrated with a One Time Registration (OTR) system, which involved an eight-point verification process, including details such as candidate's name, father's name, date of birth, category, high school roll number, and year of passing. Candidates Neeraj Chandra and Sachin Mathur from Varanasi, who appeared for the exam at a centre in Prayagraj, and Pooja from Pratapgarh said that the multi-layered screening and security checks were systematic and the entire process was smooth and transparent.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Extortion bid foiled, accused held
Lucknow: Kushinagar police on Sunday cracked an extortion case in which a jeweller received WhatsApp messages demanding Rs 5 crore under threat of death. The accused, Aryan Upadhyay, a resident of Sarpathahi Buzurg under the Nebua Naurangia police station, was arrested within hours of the complaint. The victim, Anshuman Banka, a well-known jeweller in Padrauna, lodged an FIR after receiving threatening WhatsApp messages. The sender, operating under the alias 'Munna Tabahi,' claimed to be from 'AK-47 Gang', wrote in one of the messages: "Give Rs 5 crore or I'll shoot you in broad daylight at a public crossing. You have 24 hours." Kushinagar SP Santosh Kumar Mishra immediately formed a multi-unit task force comprising personnel from the Padrauna police, Nebua Naurangia police, SWAT team, cyber cell, and surveillance units. Through electronic surveillance and technical analysis, the police traced the number to Aryan Upadhyay, who was promptly arrested. The mobile phone used to send the threats was recovered from his possession. "During interrogation, Aryan confessed to sending the threats with the intention of intimidating the jeweller. He admitted that there is no such gang as the 'AK-47 Gang' and that the threats were made in a fit of anger to scare the trader. He further revealed that he had similarly threatened a journalist in Nebua Naurangia earlier this month. A separate case (FIR No. 283/2025 under BNS 351(2) and IT Act 67) has been registered in that incident," Mishra said.
