CID holds 2 Pran Beverage officials on cheating charges

Kolkata: The state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has nabbed two senior officials identified as Rajesh Ghosh and Bidhan Kirtania of Pran Beverage India Pvt.Ltd, for allegedly cheating several people in the state with the help of a Pakistan-based cheating racket.

It has been alleged that the duo used to receive the money and later used to transfer the same using hawala channels.

According to CID officials, a Pakistan-based racket has been duping several people of Bengal since the last few months in the name of providing lottery prizes.

Victims used to get information from phone numbers starting with International Subscriber Dialing (ISD) code +92 or 0092, which belongs to Pakistan.

They were informed using WhatsApp messages and phone calls that they have won a prize worth a huge amount in a lottery, which was being conducted using their mobile numbers.

The victims were convinced and were asked to deposit some amount of money on the pretext of processing fee to get the prize money in their bank accounts. After the victims complied, the racketeers used to ask them to deposit the money to bank accounts provided by them.

Once the money got credited, the Indian counterparts of the racket used to withdraw it from the account and send it by illegal means such as hawala channels and exports to Pakistan.

Later, when victims tried to contact in the numbers, no response could be received from the other end.

Recently CID officials came to know about the crime and initiated a suo motu complaint with the Egra police station on January 13. Based on the complaint, an FIR was lodged on charges of 406 IPC (criminal breach of trust), 411 IPC (dishonestly receiving stolen property), 414 IPC (assisting in concealment of stolen property), 419 IPC (cheating by personation), 420 IPC (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 424 IPC (dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property), 468 IPC (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 IPC (using as genuine a forged 'document or electronic record') and 66D Information Technology Act (cheating by personation by using computer resource).

During investigation, sleuths found out that Ghosh and Kirtania used to receive the cheated money. On Friday, CID sleuths arrested the duo and produced them before the Contai Court. They were remanded to police custody.

Sleuths have also conducted raids at the residential premises of the accused persons and the head office of Pran Beverages at Chinar Park, New Town and seized several incriminating documents.