Gurgaon Police uncovered a highly organised cybercrime operation that surpasses the frauds from Jamtara and Nuh. This sophisticated crime appears to be controlled by foreign entities. The investigation revealed an investment fraud racket extending from Manesar in Haryana to Jalandhar in Punjab. Authorities have arrested the owner of a mobile phone shop in Churu, Rajasthan, who was involved in the Indian fraud network and allegedly received directions from Chinese handlers abroad. The investigation also uncovered that the accused had travelled to Colombo to meet with these handlers.
In an interview with TOI, a Haryana Police officer shared that gangs committing such frauds operate from neighbouring countries because it is easier to meet the Indian gang there. “Active bank accounts in India are key for them to execute the frauds and they are achieving this by transferring defrauded amounts into multiple bank accounts, making it difficult to trace the amount. They also evade potential arrest from Indian police this way. So far, not a single Chinese national has been arrested from abroad by Indian agencies in cybercrime cases.”
The first incident that came to light was when a Manesar resident was duped of Rs 28 lakh by the Churu man. The complainant was a self-employed man, lured by Churu man by offering him great returns on investments in the stock market. The complainant believed the fraud and transferred the amount into the bank account provided to him. When he tried to withdraw his returns, he realised he had been cheated as the fraudsters had blocked all his access to the virtual platform and were not reachable on call.
Based on this complaint, the police made their first arrest on June 26. The accused arrested are Neeraj (Jalandhar) and his associates Amir Ahmed (Jalandhar) and Nand Kishore Shakia (Hanumangarh, Rajasthan). As per the Police, Neeraj was the original account holder who shared the bank details with Ahmed. It was Neeraj’s account where the complainant’s money was transferred.
During interrogation, Nand Kishore Shakia confessed to the police that he was in touch with a mobile shop owner Murjad Singh Shekhawat, who was then arrested near the KMP Expressway in Sonipat on Thursday. Upon interrogating Shekhawat, he revealed that he had been in touch with a few Chinese handlers for several months. The police found the contact details of four Chinese nationals on Murjad Singh Shekhawat’s mobile. He claimed that he came in contact with them through a Nepali national on WhatsApp and later used the Telegram app to contact them.
It was then found that Murjad Singh Shekhawat visited Colombo in May 2024 and stayed in an accommodation with four Chinese till July. He was given the task of finding associates in India who would help him open bank accounts to which he provided four current accounts to the Chinese operators. Shekhawat’s commission was 1.5 per cent in this. Police have now seized a passport, three cell phones, and SIM cards from Nepal and Sri Lanka from Shekhawat. Previously, in this case, Gurgaon Police arrested a Vadodara resident Tarif Hussain Malik on August 6 for being involved with Chinese fraudsters in Dubai.
