BHOPAL: ISI-guided spying funding racket duped individuals in Karnataka and Maharashtra via phone lottery fraud to fund anti-India operations.
Investigations have revealed that the key mastermind of the racket: 30-year-old Balram Singh a native of Satna district who was arrested by MP ATS from Satna along with two other aides, Sunil Singh and Shubham in August, used digital wallet systems like Paytm as well as cash transfer kiosks of various banks to transfer the fraud money parked in bank accounts in MP to racket’s operatives (possibly spies) as directed by Pak handlers through WhatsApp calls and chats.
Money swindled from phone lottery fraud victims was transferred to bank accounts in Madhya Pradesh- which was later forwarded to operatives working for Pak handlers in India.
Pakistani handlers used money of people residing in south and western India to fund spying on India’s strategic interests and installations, the probe revealed.
The probe had led MP ATS to 10-15 individuals (including women) particularly in Maharashtra and Karnataka, who were duped by callers (trained by Pakistani handlers) to transfer money into bank accounts in nationalised banks in Rewa, Satna, Indore and other districts of MP.The callers would convince the victims to transfer money into select accounts of banks in parts of MP by luring them with big money prizes.
The investigators are identifying more such victims, who are mostly based in west and south India and based on the statements recorded from the alleged victims the sleuths are digging deeper into the busted racket, sources privy to ongoing investigations informed Free Press.
The new modus operandi of transfer of money parked in banks accounts is a marked departure from the manner in which money was transferred to operatives two years ago by a similar racket.
That racket used conventional route of inter-bank transfer or handed over cash to racket operatives after withdrawing the fraud money from bank accounts using debit cards.
“The new modus operandi of using digital wallet systems like Paytm or direct cash transfer machines installed by cash transfer kiosks of banks has been used by Balram and his aides to stay away from the eyes of banking mechanisms which keep track of big money transfers,” sources added.
Importantly, Balram Singh was part of the similar racket busted by MP ATS in 2017 as well as the racket busted in August 2019.
