The Uttarakhand police have successfully apprehended a 22-year-old man, identified as Abhishek Shaw, for allegedly duping a retired doctor of Rs. 10.50 lakh by impersonating as a treasury officer on a phone call. This operation was conducted by the cybercrime wing of the Uttarakhand police, and Abhishek Shaw was nabbed from his flat in West Bengal’s Kolkata. The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Special Task Force (STF), Mr. Ayush Agarwal confirmed the arrest on Monday and also shared that the accused had been previously arrested by the Kolkata police for cyber fraud. However, even after being released from jail, he continued to commit similar criminal activities, which eventually led to his latest arrest.
After the incident, the victim, Harish Lal, who hails from Nainital district’s Haldwani, filed a complaint with the Haldwani police station on October 26, 2022, stating that an unidentified caller had duped him of Rs. 10.50 lakh by impersonating as a treasury officer. The senior superintendent of police (STF), Mr. Ayush Agarwal, added that the investigation of the matter was subsequently transferred to the cybercrime wing, which led to the identification and apprehension of the accused.
During the investigation, the investigation officer discovered that the duped money was withdrawn from different ATMs in West Bengal and Bihar. As a result, a team was immediately sent to these areas, where they spent 15 days scanning CCTV clips and conducting raids in Bihar’s Hajipur and Vaishali, as well as West Bengal’s Kolkata. The team’s efforts paid off, as they managed to arrest the accused, Abhishek Shaw, from his flat in Kolkata’s Kasba locality. The police also recovered 16 sim cards, 6 debit cards, and two mobile phones from his possession during the operation.
After being arrested, the accused was brought to Uttarakhand on transit remand. The police are currently gathering information about his past criminal activities with the help of their counterparts in other states. This successful operation is a testament to the Uttarakhand police’s commitment to combating cybercrime and ensuring that criminals are brought to justice.
