Chandigarh: Gang using dating apps to dupe residents busted

A gang of fraudsters duping residents on the pretext of setting up dates for them was busted, with police’s cyber crime nabbing the kingpin who was operating a call centre from Kolkata.

A case in this connection was registered in October last year. The complainant, a resident of Sector 48, told the police that he had set up profiles on different dating apps.

On August 20, 2023, he received a call from a woman who introduced herself as Tannu and asked him if he wanted to be friends with Chandigarh-based girls.

The caller asked him to pay ₹2,000 on the pretext of “registration charges”. Then she forwarded photos of different girls, from which the complainant picked one. He was provided the mobile number of the girl, named Kirti, and they began chatting.

Kriti then asked Ravinder for ₹10,200 to get a “gold card” membership, which he transferred into the account provided by her through an online transaction. She then provided the complainant with the number of another girl, Rohini Agarwal.

The complainant continued to chat with both women on WhatsApp and they took ₹1,18,000 from him on the pretext of various services. He ended up transferring ₹16.5 lakh over a series of transactions into three different accounts.

Another girl, Rashmi Deshai, called the complainant saying that he had received his contact information from Tannu. Rashmi informed him that Tannu has been terminated and has passed away, adding that the amount he paid to her will be refunded but he needed to deposit a small sum before that.

Getting suspicious, the complainant informed the police. Acting on the complaint, police teams began an investigation.

The accused, Dattaterya Kundu, a Kolkata resident, was arrested during a raid in the city. On his disclosure, the kingpin of the gang, Krishanu Acharyya, was also arrested. He was operating a fake call centre in Kolkata.

Police said the accused would create fake profiles to lure residents looking for dates. Later, they would engage the victims in conversations over WhatsApp and seek money on pretext for various services.

The key accused, Krishanu had set up a fake call centre where he brought a Bulk SMS machine through which 550 SIM cards can be activated at one time. He used to send bulk messages through the machine. He had offered jobs to a few women at the call centre to engage in conversation with the victims.