Kolkata, Sep 26 — Kolkata Police on Saturday arrested seven people from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at a house in Salt Lake on charges of forging documents to obtain SIM cards in different individuals' names, which they then used to commit fraud.
Police made the arrests based on a case registered in Kolkata’s Narkeldanga area. Police said the accused had set up a call centre in the Salt Lake house.
During the search, police recovered several smartphones and keypad phones. Investigators claimed the fraud was carried out using different SIM cards on those phones at different times.
So far, police have arrested 11 people in connection with the case, including four arrested earlier.
According to police, the accused operated under the guise of “Tauseef Telecom” and similar organisations.
During the investigation, police arrested Narkeldanga resident Tauseef Alam on September 17. His interrogation revealed others' involvement in the ring.
Within days, police arrested three more suspects, followed by seven more on Saturday.
The probe began after Sub-Inspector Mohammad Abbasuddin Biswas of Narkeldanga Police Station filed a report.
The Cyber Cell said the fraudsters collected documents from different people, forged them, and used them to create SIM cards, which they then used for fraudulent activities.
Police said all the arrested individuals are residents of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. A man named Sundar allegedly brought the seven to West Bengal, where they set up a hideout in Salt Lake.
From there, they ran a fraud ring, posing as representatives of loan companies. Victims were allegedly cheated and extorted of lakhs of rupees.