Siliguri, Sept. 11 -- A major police operation was carried out at different phases of the Webel IT Park in Siliguri in the wee hours of Friday, leading to the arrest of nine people allegedly involved in running illegal call centres and cheating people abroad.
The joint operation was conducted by the State Cyber Crime Wing and the Siliguri Metropolitan Police following intelligence inputs about illegal call centre operations at the government-run IT park.
Charu Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone), who was present during the operation, said: "Several documents have been seized. The arrested persons were produced before the Siliguri court on Friday. Further details will emerge during interrogation."
More than 200 police personnel, led by senior officers, took part in the raid. Officers divided into two teams and simultaneously conducted searches at the Webel IT Park facilities at Khaprail More and Paribahan Nagar in Matigara.
According to police sources, the call centres were allegedly being used to make phone calls to people abroad and defraud them by seeking sensitive information, including OTPs, to siphon off money.
The proceeds were subsequently withdrawn or transferred through cryptocurrency. The operations reportedly continued during the night.
During the raid, power supply was disconnected several times, allegedly giving some people an opportunity to flee from the premises.
However, police arrested nine people, out of five males and four females. Several mobile phones, computers, documents and other materials were seized. Police also sealed several modules allegedly being used for the call centre operations.
Sources said several modules inside the government IT park were reportedly rented out for around Rs. 15,000 each and the illegal operations were allegedly being conducted from these rented premises.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.