Steel City police bust inter-state gang of swindlers

JAMSHEDPUR: The Steel City police on Sunday busted an inter-state gang of swindlers and arrested the mastermind who impersonated top bureaucrats of Bihar and duped several businessmen of several lakh of rupees. He was picked up from the Bagbera police station area.
The accused is identified as Ranjan Kumar Mishra alias Ankit Mishra alias Rakesh Mishra and native of Sisiya Ghat, Gaya, in Bihar.He was staying in Garabas in Bagbera near here with a fake identity for quite some time. Police said they raided the area after receiving a tip-off.
"Soon after receiving the tip-off, an investigation team led by DSP (law and order) Alok Ranjan was constituted and it arrested the accused," SSP Anup Birthare said.
Birthare said the modus operandi of the gang was to call a targeted bussinesman on his mobile number impersonating as a top government official and asking him to deposit a particular amount in his bank account.
Before making the call, the gang members gathered details of the government official impersonated so that the targeted victim does not have any doubt of the identity of the caller. Mishra used different SIM cards to make the calls, the SSP said.
Birthar said the gang recently swindled Rs 10 lakh from a contractor, Lalit Patel, a resident of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on September 5 and Rs 15 lakh from another contractor, Anand Patel, also a resident of Bhopal on September 7 by making calls as a top PWD officer of Madhya Pradesh. Mishra's accomplice identified as Rakesh Rai, a resident of Sitamarhi, Bihar, provided the bank account number to the victims to deposit the money.
Mishra revealed that he had swindled over Rs 1.50 crore from his victims in the last three years, the SSP said, adding, "We have received information about his other accomplices and they will be arrested soon. Eleven mobile phones and Rs 11 lakh cash among other items were seized from Mishra."