Fake fertiliser franchise racket busted, 5 men from Bihar held for Rs 3.5 cr fraud | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: In a breakthrough in a fraud case targeting farmers and aspiring entrepreneurs, Adilabad police arrested five members of an inter-state cybercrime gang from Bihar for allegedly cheating people by promising fertiliser franchises and loans. The operation, carried out in Bihar’s Nawada district, faced stiff resistance from locals, with police reporting stone-pelting during the arrests.Adilabad district superintendent of police Akhil Mahajan said five residents of Nawada district — Abhishek Kumar, Ashutosh Kumar, Nishu Kumar, Ritesh Kumar and Abinash Kumar — were arrested. Police seized 10 mobile phones and Rs 70,000 in cash from them. Preliminary investigation revealed that the gang had allegedly duped victims across India of nearly Rs 3.5 crore through similar schemes.Adilabad police said the arrests were made in Barhi Bigha village with the assistance of around 150 personnel from the Bihar police. During the operation, locals allegedly tried to obstruct the arrests and hurled stones on cops before the accused were taken into custody.The arrests stemmed from a complaint filed by A Ganesh under the limits of Jainath police station in Adilabad. Ganesh alleged that he was cheated by unidentified persons who lured him with a promise of providing a franchise of National Fertilizer Private Ltd. Believing the offer to be genuine, he paid Rs 3.85 lakh.“The cyber criminals contacted Ganesh through phone calls, WhatsApp and email and collected his Aadhaar, PAN card, photograph and other personal details. Initially, they demanded Rs 50,000 towards franchise registration. Subsequently, citing various reasons such as licence charges, franchise registration charges and additional fees, they repeatedly demanded money from him,” Mahajan said.According to police, once the payments were made, the accused stopped responding to the victim’s calls and messages.Investigators found that the accused had allegedly created a fake website offering fertiliser franchises and used online applications to collect personal information from victims across the country. They obtained Aadhaar and PAN details, photographs and bank account information before cheating applicants on the pretext of allotting franchises and facilitating loans.Further investigation is underway to identify additional victims and possible links to other cyber fraud networks.