New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) Delhi Police has busted a fake website of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) under the name "Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Yojna" and arrested the mastermind for cheating several people on the pretext of providing them government loans, officials said Sunday.
In a joint operation by Delhi and West Bengal Police, Sudipta Chatterjee, the 43-year-old mastermind of the racket, was arrested Saturday from Howrah, where the network had its base.
"The fake website was created with the aim of cheating people of their money on the pretext of providing them loans for various projects and schemes," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav.
Twenty mobile phones, hard disks, internet dongles, cheques related to 43 bank accounts, fake project reports, some incriminating documents along with 16 rubber stamps of government offices were recovered from his possession.
Details of the server were obtained on the basis of the fake URL -- www.pmay-gov.in.
Chatterjee was produced in a court in Bengal and was brought on transit remand to Delhi.
According to the police official, Chatterjee created the fake website, projected it as a government one and hosted it on a server based in the US.
"To confuse the users, the URL had the reflection of a government website and it was listed on priority with Google. Whenever, any online surfer would search this website would figure in the top hits," the official said.
There were sufficient reasons to believe it was a government website, he said.
Chatterjee had employed 17 tele-callers to contact prospective clients and give them the registration number of their application form.
The tele-callers were specially trained by him and scripts were provided to them which were prepared with great care and caution, so that the prospective client had no idea of being cheated.
There were a few clauses about the banking transactions, in which the client would be persuaded that he has to maintain a specified amount in his account as security.
The mastermind would also obtain signed cheques, ATM cards, PIN number of the accounts and would direct the client that he should not avail any telebanking or net banking facility on that account.
Once these steps were completed, he would withdraw the security amount from the client's account.
Chatterjee also disclosed that his associate was a web designer who helped him create other domains by the name of bharat-sarkar.in, govindia.in, CGTMSE-govt.in, CGTMSE-gov.in.
North Korea wins over Corona, dictator Kim Jong Un respects military doctors
North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Un organized a ceremony in the capital Pyongyang in which he praised military doctors for performing well in the fight against Coronavirus infection (Covid-19) in the
Indian Space Association and Ernst & Young report: India's space economy to be worth Rs 1.05 lakh crore by 2025
In the next three years, the size of India's space economy will reach $ 1,280 million, or about Rs 1.05 lakh crore. The launch of a large number of satellites and the participation of the private
Moody's lauds India for new mechanism to tame inflation
Mumbai, March 5 (IANS) Global financial services firm Moody's on Thursday lauded India for setting up a new mechanism to tame inflation through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)."The new mechanism
Curfew in 40 US cities including Washington; Trump had to be taken to the underground bunker during a demonstration at the White House
Washington. Protest is increasing in the US in the death of black George Floyd. Curfew has been imposed in 40 cities, including the capital Washington DC. On Sunday night, protesters staged a
WHO chief warned about Omicron, know what was the biggest shortcoming last year
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Aghnom Ghebreyesus, says that the cases of the new variant of the Korana virus may be less dangerous but they may not be very symptomatic. He also
For Delhi's Homeless, Voter I-Card a Passport to Better Life
New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) Neetu Shahi, a 35-year-old homeless woman and mother of four small children, feels lucky she has a voter identity card which will allow her to cast her ballot in the
America's city troubled by bicycle thieves: People are getting GPS installed; Troubled by the complaint of theft, many policemen left the job
A US city with a population of 45,000 near the Canadian border is troubled by bicycle thieves. For the last few months, incidents of bicycle theft are a daily thing here. Bicycles are being stolen
Sameer Wankhede Transferred: Former NCB officer involved in the investigation of Aryan Khan drugs case, Sameer Wankhede transferred to Chennai
Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede has been transferred as Director-General in the Directorate of Taxpayer Services, Chennai. Sameer was the head of the Narcotics Control Bureau
Israel-Hamas War: 7044 people died in the bloody war, and 7600 rockets were fired on Gaza; Netanyahu told the complete plan of ground attack
On the 19th day of the Israel-Hamas war, the Israeli Air Force carried out a massive bombardment on the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of people have died in this airstrike. Since the warning to vacate Gaza,
Viral Fever: Dengue is spreading rapidly in many states, why is it a big danger for children only?
Dengue continues to wreak havoc in many states of the country. In Uttar Pradesh alone, many deaths have occurred in the last one month due to this. Most of the dead are children. Apart from Mathura