Siliguri: Cops conduct raid, nab 8 for operating ‘cyber fraud racket’

Siliguri: Personnel from Pradhan Nagar Police Station arrested eight individuals on charges of operating a cyber fraud racket in the city.

According to police sources, the accused were allegedly running an organised network by renting bank accounts from unsuspecting individuals. They reportedly lured people with monetary incentives in exchange for access to their bank accounts, which were then used to carry out fraudulent financial transactions.

Out of the eight arrested, two have been remanded to five days of police custody.

They have been identified as Rakesh Majumder (30 years) and Raj Kumar Choudhury (26 years), both residents of Alipurduar. The duo had been staying in a rented house near Margaret School under the jurisdiction of Pradhan Nagar Police Station.

Kazi Samsuddin Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) addressing a press conference on Sunday evening said: “The accused used rented bank accounts to facilitate transactions linked to a cryptocurrency racket. Further investigation is underway.”

The arrests were made following a complaint lodged at Pradhan Nagar Police Station on Saturday night.

Acting on the complaint, police conducted a raid at the rented premises in the Pradhan Nagar area and apprehended all eight suspects.

During the raid, police recovered 53 ATM cards, 18 bank passbooks, eight cheque books, 10 mobile phones, seven PAN cards, four voter ID cards, eight Aadhaar cards, one Wi-Fi router, two QR code scanners, and Rs 5,500 in cash.

Police officials suspect that the racket may have wider links and are continuing their investigation to trace other individuals involved in the racket.