Nine women accused in call centre fraud case withdraw bail pleas

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The MIDC Cidco police had busted a call centre involved in online fraud targeting American citizens last month. In this case, hearings were held on three separate bail applications filed before the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court by nine women callers among the 115 accused arrested in the case. After hearing arguments from both sides, and as it became apparent that the court was not inclined to grant bail, all three petitions were withdrawn.

Last month, police inspector Geeta Bagwade of the MIDC Cidco police station, along with her team, conducted a raid on a building in the Chikalthana MIDC area where the call centre was operating. During the raid, 115 accused were found working as telecallers and were allegedly involved in defrauding American citizens through phone calls. A case was registered at the MIDC Cidco police station, and all the accused were arrested. Subsequently, the accused were remanded to judicial custody and lodged at Harsul Central Jail. Among the accused, Ranjana Supendarsing Sinha, Pinky Tamang, Nagma Khatoon Sheikh, Bantugla Kati, Shreyata Ahikari, and Rancholila Sangtam had filed three separate bail applications before the Aurangabad bench. The matter was heard before Justice Sachin Deshmukh. During the hearing, counsel for the accused argued that the women were merely telecallers and salaried employees with no direct involvement in the crime. It was also contended that they were residents of other states, and that one of the applicants was pregnant, seeking bail on these grounds. Opposing the pleas, assistant public prosecutor V. M. Chate submitted that the accused were actively involved in cheating American citizens by making calls and using forged documents of US federal investigation agencies and the Treasury Department, presenting them as genuine. He further argued that a portion of the money extracted from victims was paid to the telecallers as incentives, commissions, and salaries, clearly establishing their involvement in the offence. After hearing both sides, and noting that the court was not inclined to grant bail, the defence counsel withdrew the bail applications with the court’s permission.