Fake call centre causing losses to public exchequer busted in Noida; 2 detained

 A company running a fraudulent call centre has been busted in Uttar Pradesh's Noida and two officials of the firm, which was causing financial losses to the public exchequer by illegally routing calls using private server, detained, officials said on Tuesday.

The company had been operating from a rented office in the industrial Sector 63 of the city and the two persons, including a director, detained for questioning belong to Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said.

“A team of Phase 3 police station in Noida and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had raided the office and found the illegal operation running there,” Central Noida Deputy Commissioner of Police Harish Chander said.

He said the DoT officials from Delhi had approached the Noida Police with information about phone calls being re-routed via an illegal server placed here which was causing loss to the public exchequer.

An investigation was carried out and links connected to this particular company, which was causing a loss of at least Rs 20 lakh per month to the public exchequer, DCP Chander said.

Those held for questioning have been identified as company director Basit Farooq Dar and Karam Ilahi, whose wife is also a director in the firm, the police said, adding both belong to Baramulla.

According to the police, the duo had taken the building on rent on December 30, 2020 and started operations from it on January 5.

The company's frontal work was a call centre that advertised home delivery services of vegetables and grocery items but internally it would manage phone calls landing from various locations, the police said.

“Their illegal call centre would convert internet-based phone calls into normal voice calls,” the police said.

The duo are being questioned for more details, even as an FIR has been lodged at the Phase 3 police station in connection with the matter, the police added.