Transaction worth Rs 30-crore identified so far in Call Centre scam

Investigators of call centre scam informed a local court  on Thursday they have identified transactions worth Rs 25-30 crore till now and that it will take a long time for them to arrive at the actual figure given the magnitude of the scandal.

Several teams were interrogating the 71 accused arrested so far in connection with the scam, which came to light when police raided call centres in Mira Road and other areas earlier this month, ACP (Crime) Mukund Hatote, the Investigating Officer, told the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) P D Chavan.

He said police have identified transactions worth Rs 25-30 crore so far and it will take a long time to know the exact amount the victims, all American citizens, had been duped of. The ACP made the observation while seeking police custody of two accused arrested in the second case related to the scam.

The first case was filed with Mira Road police and the second with Naya Nagar police. Hatote said some of the arrested accused informed thepolice two accused - Nazir Abdul Sadam Dhori (29) and Arjun Naresh Vasudeo (24)- had played an important role in the entire racket. The police officer made the submissions throughAssistant Public Prosecutor Jaishree Tatke.

The Court later sent Dhori and Vasudeo to police custody till October 25. Two other accused - Jagdish Kanani, a businessman whomentored Sagar Thakkar alias Shaggy, the alleged mastermind ofthe racket, and Hyder Mansuri - were also sent to police custody till October 25 by another court presided over by JMFCA B Katte. The scam relates to Indian tele-callers forcing US citizens to part with dollars by posing as American tax officials. It operated out of nearly a dozen call centres in Thane.