Bhopal: ASI Raghuvanshi has been arrested and charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act for reportedly negotiating a bribe of Rs 25 lakh with the leader of a fake call center scheme that deceived individuals by posing as stock market investment opportunities.
On Wednesday, Police Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra suspended four officers due to alleged negligence and misconduct in a significant cybercrime investigation. The suspended officers include Aishbagh SHO Jitendra Garhwal, ASIs Pawan Raghuvanshi and Manoj Kumar, and head constable Dharmendra Singh.
According to police, the arrangement was intended to protect the suspect from law enforcement. Officers seized Rs 5 lakh of the purported bribe from Raghuvanshi’s home. The fraudulent operation was being conducted from a residence in Prabhat Square. On February 22, three female employees from the ‘call center’ approached the Aishbagh police station, claiming they had not received their wages. Upon investigation, police discovered a box containing 25 SIM cards.
Further inquiries revealed that the mobile numbers and bank accounts associated with the call center were involved in cyber-fraud cases in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, with the operation linked to one Afzal Khan. Police conducted a raid on the call center, arrested Afzal’s son, and later released him. Following intervention from senior officials, an FIR was filed against Afzal and his daughter, leading to Afzal’s arrest on Monday. Investigations revealed transactions exceeding Rs 1 crore in various employee bank accounts, resulting in the arrest of eight additional suspects.
At that point, ASI Raghuvanshi had already been reassigned from active duty to police lines but continued to be ‘unusually active’ in the case, raising concerns among senior officers, particularly ACP Surbhi Meena. She instructed the crime branch to keep an eye on Raghuvanshi, who was found to be in contact with Aishbagh SHO Jitendra Garhwal, head constable Dharmendra Singh, and ASI Manoj Kumar. This surveillance ultimately led to the identification of the alleged true mastermind behind the racket, Moeen Khan, according to police.
Investigations have shown that ASI Raghuvanshi was fully aware that Afzal was just a frontman, while Moeen, a resident of Tikamgarh, was the true mastermind behind the cyber-fraud scheme, according to police reports. To protect Moeen, Raghuvanshi allegedly made a deal worth Rs 25 lakh to ensure he would not be implicated in the case.
On Tuesday, police tracked Moeen’s whereabouts when he arrived in Bhopal to deliver the first installment of Rs 5 lakh of the supposed bribe. Subsequently, they conducted a raid on ASI Raghuvanshi’s residence and seized the alleged bribe.
During interrogation, ASI Raghuvanshi reportedly confessed that the Rs 25 lakh agreement involved SHO Garhwal, along with ASI Manoj Singh and head constable Dharmendra Singh. Following these admissions, ASI Raghuvanshi was arrested, and a case was filed against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
DCP Priyanka Shukla stated that Moeen Khan is a significant figure in cyber-fraud activities spanning several states. The police have initiated cases related to this matter, and further investigations are ongoing.
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