Life Imprisonment for Nine Cyber Scammers in Rs 1 Crore Extortion Case

Strategic Insights -

In a groundbreaking verdict, a Kalyani trial court has sentenced nine scammers to life imprisonment for extorting Rs 1 crore from a Ranaghat resident by threatening him with "digital arrest" last year. The convicts, part of a larger gang that has amassed Rs 100 crore by cheating 108 people across India, were found guilty of forgery and various IT and penal offenses. The prosecution described their crimes as "economic terrorism" and highlighted the severe impact on their victims, including a retired professor who lost his life's savings to the gang.

Key Takeaways:

  • The nine convicts, part of a larger gang, have been sentenced to life imprisonment for extorting Rs 1 crore from a Ranaghat resident.
  • The gang has amassed Rs 100 crore by cheating 108 people across India.
  • The convicts were found guilty of forgery and various IT and penal offenses under BNS 338 and 10 other penal offences.
  • The prosecution described the crimes as "economic terrorism" and highlighted the severe impact on victims, including a retired professor who lost his life's savings to the gang.
  • The investigation revealed that the gang was involved in a sophisticated network, siphoning money through multiple bank accounts across different states.
  • A detailed analysis of beneficiary accounts and phone numbers led to the uncovering of the network.
  • 29 witnesses from four different states testified physically before the Kalyani additional sessions judge during the five-month trial.
  • The charge sheet ran into 2,600 pages.
  • The defense is likely to appeal in Calcutta High Court.

Statistics:

  • Rs 100 crore: The amount of money amassed by the gang through cheating 108 people across India.
  • 108: The number of people cheated by the gang across India.
  • 9: Number of convicts sentenced to life imprisonment.
  • Rs 1 crore: The amount of money extorted from a Ranaghat resident by the convicts.
  • 5 months: The duration of the trial during which 29 witnesses testified physically.
  • 2,600: The number of pages in the charge sheet.
  • 4: The number of different states from which witnesses testified.

Sources:

  • Times of India (TOI) article dated [date not specified], by Dwaipayan.Ghosh@timesofindia.com in Kolkata.
  • IGP (CID) Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi in the Times of India article.