According to the chargesheet, more than Rs 26 crore was extorted from US nationals from three call centres, of which one was located in Kashmira and the other two in Naya Nagar.
Thane Police on Friday filed a chargesheet against 80 persons allegedly involved in a massive call centre racket operating from Mira Road in which the accused placed phone calls to US citizens posing as Internal Revenue Services officials and extorted money from them to ignore purported tax irregularities. The police said they were gathering evidence against 630 others who are suspected to be involved in the racket, and will file supplementary chargesheets against them in the future.
In the 5,786-page chargesheet, the police have named 28 persons as wanted accused, including the alleged mastermind Sagar Thakkar alias Shaggy. The evidence cited in the chargesheet by the Thane police includes CCTV footage, call data records, official communication from Google and a statement and cash purchase receipt from Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider Magic Jack.
According to the chargesheet, more than Rs 26 crore was extorted from US nationals from three call centres, of which one was located in Kashmira and the other two in Naya Nagar.
The police also seized assets worth more than Rs 4.5 crore during the probe. "We will be filing supplementary chargesheets in the case and we are still collecting evidence related to the case. We have received a report from Google, which too is a part of the chargesheet", said DCP Parag Manere, Thane Crime Branch.
"Statements of 10 witnesses have been recorded. The accused will soon become approvers," said Manere. More than 20 police officers typed the chargesheet, after officials from the cyber cell and top cyber experts followed up with US agencies and US nationals to collect the evidence and data. The Thane police sent out messages to US nationals who were targeted, asking them to file formal complaints, of which 40 replied.
"The absconding accused in the case involve persons indulging in hawala operations that have been partly identified, and these persons will be arrested after the mastermind Sagar Thakkar is arrested," said a Thane crime branch officer.
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