Mumbai: Two accused, arrested in the ‘electricity bills’ fraud case last week, are also wanted in at least two other states – Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. Meanwhile, a third accused is absconding.
The duo – identified as Sachin Mandal, 24 and Sanjeet Mandal, 25, were arrested from Ranchi on November 20 after they allegedly cheated a man of ₹55,000. They sent a text message in the name of the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited, threatening to disconnect his electricity supply, as his bill was supposedly pending.
“We have been contacted by several police stations, like Bhoiwada and Kherwadi in Mumbai, as well as by the Thane police, as they have registered cases with a similar modus operandi which were traced back to their location,” said the police sub-inspector Rajabhau Garad, who heads the local cyber cell at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) police station.
“In some cases, the same mobile number as the one used in our case was identified during investigations. The MP and Kerala police have received complaints against them through the national cybercrime reporting portal,” he added.
According to the police, the duo had been active since at least 2020.
A search of the duo’s computers revealed an MS Excel sheet full of phone numbers to that they would send messages using WhatsPromo, an app that lets the user send WhatsApp messages in bulk. The police are analysing the numbers to check if any of them belong to any victims who have registered cases of cyber-fraud so far.
“The duo had rented a house in a secluded location, around 200 kilometres from their native place, from where they were operating,” Garad said.
They were remanded in judicial custody on November 26, and other police stations will now file applications in court seeking their custody.