Latest news with #MumbaiCrimeBranch
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Senior citizens in Telangana turn easy pickings for cyber fraudsters
Hyderabad: An 80-year-old retired employee from Tolichowki lost over Rs 19 lakh to fraudsters posing as stock market advisors after clicking on a deceptive link while browsing news online, cybercrime police said. The crime was committed over a incident occurred within a 10-day span this month. Following his complaint, the cybercrime team registered a case on Monday. Earlier, on July 22, a 79-year-old retired banker from Domalguda lodged a complaint with Hyderabad police, alleging that he had lost over Rs 35 lakh to fraudsters masquerading as officers from CBI and Mumbai Crime Branch. They threatened to arrest him in a fabricated money laundering case. On the same day, Telangana cyber security bureau's Warangal branch registered a 'digital arrest' case following a complaint from a 70-year-old victim from Hanumakonda, who had lost Rs 51 lakh to fraudsters posing as officers of CBI and Bengaluru police. Though digital arrest and investment fraud cases have reduced from 1,631 and 10,772 in the first half of 2024 to 905 and 8,866 in 2025, respectively, recording a decline of 45% and 18% cases, the reduction in the senior citizen category was 33% in digital arrest cases and 41% in investment fraud cases. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 8 speakeasy bars and restaurants in Singapore to check out CNA Undo You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad 'Large chunk of digital arrest victims are elderly' 'It has been observed that a significant chunk of the victims in digital arrest cases are senior citizens in the 60-80 age-group who are educated and retired professionals whose children are found to be living or working abroad. The fraudsters call the victims, posing as CBI or crime branch officers, send fake arrest and non-bailable warrants, fake court orders and force them to transfer money for RBI verification. Due to increased awareness, the number of cases involving senior citizens in Telangana reduced from 18 in 2024 to 12 in 2025. We're expecting a further decline in the near future,' a cybercrime officer said. In the first half of 2024, senior citizens had lost money in 70 cases involving fraudsters posing as bank executives attempting to redeem credit card reward points for the victims. However, this year, only five such cases have been reported, marking a decline of 93%. Similarly, senior citizens who lost money to sextortion rackets, where fraudsters threaten to leak nude photos of the victim, decreased drastically from eight in 2024 to zero so far this year. Surprisingly, while the general trend of customer care frauds fell by 35% from 7,958 in 2024 to 5,212 cases in 2025, incidents involving senior citizens increased from 99 in 2024 to 145 in 2025. Additionally, fraudsters offering loans managed to trick seven senior citizens in 2025, compared to two such victims last year.
NDTV
2 days ago
- NDTV
Revolver That Was Silent For 21 Years: Life Of 'Encounter Specialist' Daya Nayak
Daya Nayak, an encounter specialist in the Mumbai Police, has not fired a single shot from his revolver in the last 21 years. He last used it in 2004 to kill an alleged gangster in Malad. The revolver, which he proudly keeps at his desk in the Mumbai Crime Branch office at Bandra, has made him famous as an "encounter specialist officer". Mr Nayak, along with his mentor, has killed around 80 alleged gangsters and terrorists. Over the years, he became an urban legend with national and international media featuring him, and several movies being made about his life. He is the last of the lot, which had famous names like Pradeep Sharma, Vijay Salaskar, Praful Bhosle, and Ravindra Angre. I have been acquainted with Nayak as a cub reporter since 1999 and witnessed ups and downs in his life. A sub-chapter in my book "Bombay After Ayodhya" delves into his life. Daya Nayak was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police today. He is retiring on July 31. Here is an excerpt: ... and then Daya Nayak couldn't hold his tears. Tall, well-built and with a moustache, Daya Nayak emerged as an encounter specialist in the late 1990s, and his personality became an antithesis of his name, which stands for 'mercy' in Hindi. He, whose name had become synonymous with fear after having killed several gangsters, was now in a state of shambles. My camera recorded him weeping, but my mind could not accept that visual. A daredevil cop, a blue-eyed boy of all his superiors, and an ever-so-prompt officer, Daya Nayak never hesitated to pose for my camera at the encounter spots, flashing his Kalashnikov. Men cry, policemen cry. And anyone who believes they can't or shouldn't fail to see the human in them. Daya Nayak was charged with a case of disproportionate assets. The honour that he had earned over the years seemed to fade as the fear of an impending arrest held him. He hailed from a village in coastal Karnataka and moved to Bombay with his relatives to pursue a college education while also making ends meet with petty jobs. After clearing the Maharashtra Public Services Exam, he was recruited as a Sub-Inspector of Bombay Police in 1995. While being posted at the Juhu police station, Nayak came across Inspector Pradeep Sharma, who was impressed with the former's ability in crime detection. Soon, Sharma inducted him into his squad, and the duo conducted several encounters together. Nayak's fame spread like fire, and the duo became the blue-eyed boys of many senior officers. He was the only Sub-Inspector rank officer who was privileged with a separate cabin like senior officers, much to the envy of a few peers. Nayak's trouble escalated in early 2006, with a Marathi newspaper report on the opening of a high-tech school by Nayak at his native village, Yennehole. Named after his mother, Radha Nayak, the school's inauguration ceremony was attended by celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Shetty and Aftab Shivdasani. Daya had allegedly spent crores on this project. The news raised many eyebrows as everyone was left perplexed to see a Sub-Inspector being able to afford such a lavish investment. It was speculated that he misused his position as a police officer and extorted money from businessmen to set up the school. Soon, a case of amassing assets disproportionate to the known source of income was registered against him by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Nayak went into hiding and applied for an anticipatory bail. As the bail application got rejected and his imprisonment appeared imminent, Daya gave me an interview at an undisclosed location before finally surrendering. A miserable and tormented Daya alleged that his former colleagues had conspired against him out of jealousy, "I am a victim of infighting within the force," he said. His wife and two other friends were also booked in the case. He was imprisoned for two months and was granted bail when the Anti-Corruption Bureau failed to file the chargesheet against him within the stipulated time period of 60 days. Later investigations could not gather any substantive evidence against Nayak, and he was eventually discharged. On the streets, gangsters bayed for each other's blood, but simultaneously, a parallel gang war also ensued among the people who were supposed to eliminate them. Since a few of my fellow crime reporters and I often interacted with these cops, the picture seemed clearer to us than to many others. Pradeep Sharma and Daya Nayak together had killed over 80 alleged gangsters and were portrayed as heroes. The gangsters dreaded their names. While the duo inspired many Bollywood films at the start of the twenty-first century, like many Bollywood scripts, their friendship was affected by the arrival of new characters on the scene. As more officers joined Sharma's squad, disagreements and misunderstandings broke out between the inseparable Sharma and Nayak. Rumours fanned over who the actual officers were and on whom the films were being made. It was conceded that Nayak's fame was overshadowing his superior and that he should be cut down to size. After getting relief in the disproportionate asset case, Daya Nayak was reinstated in the police force. (This is an excerpt from Jitendra Dixit's 2022 book Bombay After Ayodhya: A City in Flux, published by HarperCollins India. Only subheadings and paragraph breaks have been added by NDTV for readers' ease. These are the personal views of the author.) Disclaimer: The author and publisher of the book are solely responsible for the contents of the book or any excerpt derived therefrom. NDTV shall not be responsible or liable for any claims arising from the contents of the book including any claims of defamation, infringement of intellectual property rights or any other right of any third party or of law.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Stray bullet injures woman in Dharavi
MUMBAI: A 32-year-old woman who was talking to her friend outside her house on Sunday night in Dharavi was hit by a stray bullet. It is not yet known who fired the bullet, said police. The Shahu Nagar police registered a case under Section 109 (attempt to commit murder) and relevant sections under the Arms Act, 1959. The woman, Sarwar Banu Shaikh, hails from Bihar and resides on the 90-feet road in Dharavi. After completing her work, she was talking to a friend near her house around 9.30pm when the bullet hit her shoulder. 'Initially, she was not sure what had hit her. After seeing her bleed and suffer from unbearable pain, they realised it was serious and linked to a thud noise they had heard before it hit her. Her friend and she assumed a tyre burst or a firecracker went off and got her,' said a police officer. Shaikh was rushed to the Sion hospital, where an X-ray revealed the bullet injury. The doctors removed the bullet from her shoulder. She is currently undergoing treatment, the officer said. Officers from the Shahu Nagar police station and Mumbai Crime Branch interrogated other residents in the neighbourhood and her family members to understand if they suspected it was an attack from a rival, but they denied it. 'We are questioning locals and criminal elements in the area to understand if anybody recently purchased any weapons which misfired,' said the officer. The Shahu Nagar police registered a case under Section 109 (attempt to commit murder) and relevant sections under the Arms Act, 1959.
The Hindu
23-07-2025
- The Hindu
Gang of four digitally arrest senior citizen in Bengaluru, rob ₹83 lakh
A gang of four, posing as Mumbai Crime Branch officials, digitally arrested a 78-year-old man for two months (May 21 to July 10), and robbed him of his lifetime savings of ₹83.2 lakh after threatening to book him in a bank fraud case. The victim, a resident of Thippasandra HAL 3rd stage, even borrowed money from his friends to pay the imposters, who threatened him and his son with arrest if he did not pay up. The fraud came to light when the victim went to his native place in Belagavi, and narrated the ordeal to his son, who advised him to report the incident to 1930 (cyber crime helpline) before filing a formal complaint with the east division cyber crime police on Monday. The victim, in his complaint, said that the ordeal began on May 21, when he received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller identified himself as Jyothi Vishwanath from the cyber crime branch of Mumbai, and told the victim that he was involved in a bank fraud case, and that his bank account (SBI passbook) details were recovered from a person who committed this crime, according to the complaint. The victim was allegedly told that he was also one of the accused in the bank fraud case, and hence will be arrested. The caller also informed the victim that the prime accused in the fraud case had purchased a SIM card in his name in Mumbai, which confirmed his involvement, the complaint said. The accused allegedly made multiple calls to the victim and threatened him of dire consequences if he did not provide his bank account access for verification. The complainant further said that another person posing as a public prosecutor also called, and offered to help with the proceedings and forced him to part with the money. The victim was also reportedly told that he was put under surveillance via Whatsapp video calls, and that he should not contact anyone about this. The victim followed their instruction, after the accused allegedly assured him that the money will be transferred back to his account once the case is closed, and said that he can collect the letter of confirmation from the nearest police station after his name is dropped from the case. Atter waiting for two months, the victim did not receive any money and made up his mind to visit his native place to attend a family function, where his son advised him to approach the police and raise the complaint online. The police are trying to track down the accused through call records and online transaction details. The police have said that there is no such thing as a 'digital arrest', and people should not entertain ransom calls made on the pretext of such cases. In a similar case, a 74-year-old woman, and resident of Koramangala was threatened by conmen with digital arrest and forced to transfer ₹ 77.8 lakh on June 24. The victim told the central division cyber crime police that the accused, posing as Mumbai police, told her that someone used her Aadhaar card in a ₹4 crore bank fraud, and threatened to arrest her. They forced her to share her bank account details and transfer all her savings, assuring to return the same after investigations. The accused even threatened her not to disclose this to anyone, and assured to help her in the case.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Time of India
Gangland abduction: Victim's kin paid accused Rs 40 lakh, suspect Mumbai Police
Mumbai: The family and friends of Sajjid Electricwala, who was abducted over a drug-linked financial dispute, allegedly paid the accused Rs 40 lakh, said police. With known criminal antecedents of each of the seven members arrested, the Mumbai Crime Branch is seriously considering invoking the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused, citing a clear pattern of organised extortion and violence. Crime branch arrested seven members of the gang for allegedly kidnapping Sajjid and his friend Shabbir Siddiqui over a financial dispute of Rs 50 lakh, which Sajjid took under the promise of delivering a mephedrone-amnufacturing factory. The gang, headed by Sarwar Khan, a close aide of Chhota Shakeel's brother Anwar, allegedly confined the victims in various places in Raigad, Madhya Pradesh, and finally Banda district in Uttar Pradesh. The attackers allegedly threatened to kill them unless the money was returned. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai "During the preliminary inquiries, it appears that the victims' family and friends paid Rs 35-40 lakh to the gang. We are trying to verify this," said an officer. Police said it was only after Shabbir escaped and informed Mumbai Police that a team raided a place in Banda district, rescued Sajjid, and arrested Yunus Umar Pill, Mohammad Tausif Hanif Zendi, Satish Kadu, Santosh Waghmare, Sarvar Khan, Mehtab Ali, and Rahul Sawant. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it legal? How to get Internet without paying a subscription? Techno Mag Learn More Undo "Sajjid and Shabbir are also involved in drug peddling, but in this case, they are victims," said an officer. Sources said that late Thursday, police were grilling Sajjid. Police are also examining whether any case is made out against Sajjid.
