Police struggle to track down call centre mastermind ‘John’

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Police are finding it increasingly difficult to trace “John,” the suspected mastermind behind an international call centre scam that duped foreign nationals of crores of rupees. Despite extensive technical investigation, officers have found no solid clues or digital trail pointing to his location.

According to sources, Rajveer Pradeep Verma (22), the main accused from Vallabh Nagar, Ahmedabad, has refused to cooperate during interrogation, leaving investigators frustrated. The team sent to Gujarat is expected to return empty-handed after days of fruitless search. Rajveer Verma, who was arrested on November 1 from judicial custody, is believed to have run the scam with help from his relatives one of whom is suspected to be John. However, even after eight days of questioning, police have not been able to link Verma directly to the mastermind. Other arrested suspects Abdul Farooq Shah alias Farooqi, Bhavesh Chaudhary, Bhavik Patel, Satish Lade, Valay Vyas (all from Ahmedabad), Ajay Thakur, and Manvardhan Rathod reportedly had limited knowledge of the network’s upper hierarchy, making it difficult for investigators to identify the real handler and his national web.

----------

Gujarat Raid Fails to Yield Results

During interrogation, Verma told police that most of his relatives live in Gujarat and Punjab. Acting on that input, the team discreetly took him to Ahmedabad to trace John. However, as of late Monday night, the team had not found any meaningful lead.

-----------

Foreign account trail still unclear

The scam targeted foreign nationals, but investigators suspect it revolved around hawala-based money transfers. The operation was allegedly run from Gujarat, known as a hub for hawala dealings. Police believe the defrauded amount was converted from virtual currency into cash. Still, they remain clueless about which foreign accounts were involved or how much money was transferred. Senior officers have maintained complete silence on this sensitive aspect.

-------

Probe expands to 11 bank accounts

Investigators have sought transaction details of 11 bank accounts linked to the eight arrested suspects. A forensic audit is underway, as police suspect large volumes of black money were routed through these accounts. According to Farooqi’s statement, most transactions were made in cash, with fake funds diverted among associates. Officials believe new connections and money trails may surface once all bank transactions are analyzed.