Fake call centre scam mastermind arrested in Mumbai

April 8, 2017

Thane, Apr 8: Sagar Thakkar alias 'Shaggy', the alleged mastermind of the Internal Revenue Service call centre scam in which thousands of Americans were defrauded to the tune of USD 300 million, has been arrested by Thane Police. According to Thane Police officials, Sagar, who was on the run since the unearthing of the scam last year, was placed under arrest late last night after he arrived at the Mumbai airport following his deportation from Dubai.

SagarA team of officers from Thane Police Commissionerate picked up Sagar from the airport, the officials said. The scam, which operated since 2013 through at least half a dozen call centres in Thane, targeted at least 15,000 US-based tax payers, who were allegedly conned by Indian tele-callers.

The US Justice Department has charged 61 people and entities linked to the scam where call centre agents impersonated IRS, immigration and other federal officials and demanded payments for non-existent debts. US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson had earlier said that these call centres stole more than USD 300 million from their victims.

The scam came to light last year when police raided call centres at Mira Road in Thane district on the night of October 4-5. Subsequently, police teams raided and shut down five call centres in Ahmedabad which were a part of the racket. Over 70 people, mostly directors and key persons linked to these call centres, were arrested and 700 employees were detained.

During the interrogation of arrested directors, police got the name of Sagar. However, by that time, he had left the country on October 5 before police could catch him. According to police, they had issued a LOC (Look Out Circular) against Sagar on October 7, two days after his escape. The kingpin was suspected to have fled to Dubai. Investigators say Sagar (24) led a lavish lifestyle and was accompanied by around a dozen bouncers. He was a regular at posh late night parties in Mumbai and was also fond of high-end cars.

He began working at the age of 16 with his 'mentor' Jagdish Kanani, who had worked in the call centres abroad. Kanani (33), who was arrested from suburban Borivali last October had trained him, they said. Also, Thane police had seized an Audi car belonging to Sagar, valued at Rs 2.5 crore, from Ahmedabad in October last year. It was allegedly purchased from a leading cricketer in May.

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Agencies
May 24,2020

Kanpur, May 24: Three persons onboard separate Shramik Special trains lost their lives due to various ailment, officials said here on Saturday.

"Family members of the deceased said all were suffering from serious ailment. The travel history of all the three deceased passengers was taken, Kanpur District Magistrate Brahma Deo Ram Tiwari said.

Giving details about the deceased, he said Naichinalyu Disang (23), a resident of Nagaland, was going from Delhi to Dimapur.

"She was suffering from liver ailments," Tiwari said. As she coughed and vomited in the train, other passengers got terrified, he added.

The district magistrate said the body reached Kanpur Central Station at around 10.00 am.

Sample has been taken to check for the presence of novel coronavirus. She was working at a spa in Himachal Pradesh, he said.

Tiwari said Rajendra Prasad (50), a resident of Unnao, died on the Lucknow-bound special train from Andhra Pradesh.

Munni Devi (80), a resident of Siwan district in Bihar, died onboard the special train going from Surat to Siwan, the senior official informed.

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Agencies
May 25,2020

Hyderabad, May 25: Indicating foul play in the death of nine people, including six of a family, whose bodies were fished out from a well near Warangal, a forensic expert on Sunday virtually ruled out suicide theory, saying it appeared seven of them had been dragged and thrown into the water body.

Mystery shrouded the death of nine people, including six of a family, whose bodies were found in a well, five of them on Friday and four on Thursday, on the outskirts of Warangal in Telangana.

Police stepped up the probe and forensic analysis was also underway in the case.

The forensic expert, who visited the crime scene as part of the investigation citing preliminary tests, said that the seven of nine people had scratch injuries and appeared to have been "dragged" and "thrown" into the well.

Forensic reports are expected in 10 days, the forensic expert told media on Sunday adding after examining the crime scene it appears that the deaths were not suicides.

"We have preserved all organs and the same were sent to forensic science laboratory (FSL) for examination... some two or three persons might have been involved in the crime. There are scratch injuries on the bodies," he said.

"It appears that they were thrown into the water... There were no injuries on the child's body. We are awaiting the forensic report (to ascertain) whether they were poisoned. It didn't appear as if they committed suicide," the expert, who performed the post-mortem said.

Police sources said at least two people were picked up for questioning.

Bodies of the head of the family, wife, daughter and three-year old grandson were found floating and fished out on Thursday.

On Friday morning, some bodies were seen floating following which police pumped out the water from the well and found others.

The 48-year old man had migrated from West Bengal over 20 years ago and had settled down here. His family had been staying in two rooms on the premises of the unit, police had earlier said.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Surat, Jul 16: Woman police constable Sunita Yadav, who had a confrontation with a minister's son over lockdown violation which led to his arrest here in Gujarat, claimed she has resigned from service. However, a senior police official has denied it.

Prakash Kanani, the son of Gujarat Minister of State for Health Kumar Kanani, and his two friends were arrested on Sunday for allegedly violating the lockdown and night curfew orders in Surat, a COVID-19 hotspot, a senior police official earlier said.

Yadav, who is being hailed on social media for taking action against the minister's son, told news channels on Wednesday that she had put in her papers.

"I have resigned because I did not receive support from my superior officers. I was only doing my duty as a constable. It's the fault of our system that these people (like the minister's son) think they are VVIPs (very very important persons)," she said.

However, a senior police official here denied that she has resigned.

"She has not given her resignation. The inquiry is still on and technically she cannot resign at this juncture," Surat Police Commissioner R B Brahmbhatt said.

Yadav's action had led to the registration of an FIR and arrest of Prakash Kanani and two of his friends for alleged violation of lockdown and curfew norms in Surat city.

The arrests came after a video of a heated exchange between them and Yadav, who pulled up the trio for violation of curfew, surfaced on social media. The trio was later released on bail.

Since the incident, Yadav is being hailed on social media.

While some social media users called her "Lady Singham" (referring to the tough cop in the Hindi film "Singham"), some suggested she contest the 2022 state Assembly polls against Kumar Kanani, who represents Varachha constituency in Surat district.

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