In a significant breakthrough, Pranavananda Mondal, a youth from Durgapur, was arrested by Maharashtra Police today in connection with a massive fraud involving the promise of erecting wireless internet towers on land in Nagpur. Mondal, a resident of Borgoria village in Faridpur police station limits, is accused of duping several individuals of Rs16 crore over several months.
Mondal was reportedly part of a larger gang that orchestrated the fraudulent scheme, deceiving investors with the false promise of installing wireless internet towers in Nagpur. The Maharashtra Police raided Mondal’s residence early this morning and took him into custody.
In a related case, eight officials from the Burdwan Municipality left for Nagpur on Thursday evening to assist in the investigation of a cyber fraud case. The municipality had fallen victim to cheque cloning, leading to a loss of Rs1.41 crore. The fraud came to light in September, when the municipality noticed large sums of money had been withdrawn from their account using forged cheques.
The Cyber Police Station in Burdwan referred the case to Nagpur Police, as the fraudulent transactions occurred in that city. Investigators in Nagpur are now questioning municipality officials, particularly those in the accounts department, regarding the incident. Paresh Chandra Sarkar, Chairman of the Burdwan Municipality, confirmed that the officials have been sent to Nagpur to aid in the investigation.
In a separate development, Chandigarh Police arrested Charanjit Singh, a Punjab-based drug peddler, in Kanksa within the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate (ADPC) area. Singh had been evading arrest since 2020, when he was involved in a significant drug trafficking case. During that operation, Chandigarh Police seized narcotics worth Rs18 lakh.
