Kol, B’luru cops nab 4 cybercrime accused from Bypass apartment

Kolkata: In a joint operation on Wednesday, Bengaluru Police, along with Kolkata East Division Police, arrested four inter-state cyber criminalshiding in an Anandapur apartment. The suspects were involved in multiple cyber crimes, including ATM fraud and digital arrest scam, across Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The accused fled from Bengaluru cops and arrived in the city a few days ago, cops said.Renjith R S (37) from Bengaluru, Akaran R Nathan from Ahmedabad, Joel Jeevraj Karkada (30) from Gujarat, and Ashish Ravindra Nathan (34) from Ahmedabad had stayed in a local hotel before moving to the Anandapur apartment. "This arrest is significant as these individuals were involved in sophisticatedcyber fraud operationstargeting victims in multiple cities," said the joint CP (crime & traffic), Kolkata Police. Preliminary investigation revealed the gang operated a complex network of digital scams, targeting people through various online platforms. Bengaluru cops will take custody of the accused after praying for transit remand for further investigation and to uncover the extent of their criminal activities. Authorities have advised citizens to remain vigilant against cyber fraud attempts and report suspicious online activities to the nearest cyber crime police station.The local police are investigating if more individuals are involved in the operation, who may have provided local logistics to the accused. Cops are also checking the CCTV footage to ascertain if others met them while the accused were hiding in Anandapur.Cops earlier arrested Chirag Kappor along with 10 others in connection with a nationwide crackdown on a digital arrest scam, claiming to have resolved over 930 complaints across the country. "We are ascertaining if both groups are related," said an officer.