India’s Biggest IT Raid: Over 500 employees from 7 Thane call centres detained for duping US citizens
Thane police chief Param Bir Singh talking to the press
In what is possibly the biggest IT raid in India, over 500 employees from at least seven call centres were detained for allegedly threatening US citizens and siphoning off their money in Mira Road area on Tuesday.
The raid was carried out by over 200 police personnel, most of whom were from the Crime Branch. The raids were conducted late last night and continued in the wee hours of today.
According to police, the persons operated from call centres in Mira Road locality, which falls under the jurisdiction of Thane Rural Police, and posed as officials of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the equivalent to the Income Tax Department in India.
The call centre employees would call up US citizens and demand their financial and bank details under the guise of ‘tax revision’. Those who were reluctant to share their details were threatened with legal and federal consequences.
Upon receiving the requisite information from the American citizens, the callers would siphon off money from their accounts. The money was later transferred to a local account and subsequently withdrawn.
According to preliminary police estimates, over Rs 1 crore was siphoned off from unsuspecting citizens on a daily basis.
After receiving a tip off about these unlawful activities, cops started keeping a tab on the employees and raided the call centre premises last night.
Police are yet to reveal the details about the mastermind behind the entire operation.
Thane police chief Param Bir Singh has called for a press briefing today to share further details about the crackdown.
