Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
The cyber police of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Rural have arrested an inter-state gang that cheated several Customer Service Point (CSP) operators across the district through a planned online and cash fraud.
The gang had targeted CSP centres in Rajnangaon Pol, Gangapur, Dhor-Kin, and Ellora areas. Acting on a complaint from Raju Kuklare, the police traced the suspects to Jalgaon district. The accused were intercepted while fleeing toward Madhya Pradesh. The arrested have been identified as Rahil Shaikh (37, Wadala Shivar, Nashik), and Pravin Vaishnav (47, Sinnar, Nashik). Police recovered a Maruti Swift car and valuables worth Rs 3.37 lakh from their possession. According to police, the accused visited CSP outlets pretending to need urgent cash for hospital bills, vehicle repairs, or labour payments. They convinced the operators that a relative would transfer the amount online and asked for their QR code or PhonePe number. Once the accomplices transferred the amount, the accused collected cash usually between Rs 50,000 and Rs 80,000 and fled. Later, the CSP operator received a call claiming the money had been sent by mistake. The caller would then file a fraud complaint via helpline 1930, leading to the operator’s account being frozen. The gang would subsequently apply for a refund through court, cheating the CSP operators twice. Both have confessed to committing similar crimes in Shrirampur, Sangamner, Jalna, Jalgaon, Deulgaon Raja (Buldhana), and parts of Madhya Pradesh. The investigation was led by police inspector Sanjay Deshmukh, assisted by API Vijaysing Jonwal, police naik Kailash Kamthe, and constables Santosh Tandle and Mukesh Wagh. The accused are currently in police custody. Authorities have appealed to all CSP operators to report similar frauds immediately to the cyber police station, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Rural.