A major financial scam has been uncovered in Bihar’s Gaya town, where a call centre allegedly defrauded hundreds of people over the past three years. The victims, who lost between Rs80,000 and Rs3 lakh each, were lured with promises of assistance in accessing government benefits and loans from banks and financial institutions.
The racket was exposed after the National Crime Records Bureau received 37 complaints within the last year, all tracing back to 26 phone numbers believed to be part of the scam. Police tracked these numbers to a call centre operating from Gaya’s Rampur police station area and arrested 36 individuals, including the call centre’s owner Nishant Kumar and several employees.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police Ashish Bharti, the call centre employees would contact victims, promising help with government schemes and loan applications. In exchange, victims were instructed to pay a service charge by transferring money to a QR code provided by the scammers. However, after receiving the payment, no services were rendered, leading to numerous complaints.
“The fraudsters operated with 33 phone numbers across multiple calls, misguiding the victims into thinking they were signing up for legitimate services,” Bharti said. The scam’s total financial impact is yet to be fully calculated, though victims reported losses ranging from Rs80,000 to Rs3 lakh each.
Despite the arrests, several families of the accused have protested, claiming their relatives were merely employees working for the call centre, while the true mastermind, they allege, is Nishant Kumar. City SP Prerna Kumar confirmed that Nishant Kumar was unable to provide any legitimate documentation for his business and failed to explain its operations when questioned by the police.
Authorities have booked all 36 individuals under provisions of the IT Act, with further investigations ongoing to determine the full extent of the fraud.
