On Thursday, Agartala Police arrested five individuals involved in a well-organized gang that engaged in fraudulent transactions to convert black money into white. The scam came to light when one of the gang members tried to deceive a local travel agency.
The incident occurred at the Math Chowmuhani area in Agartala, where a fraudster purchased a ticket to Jammu and Kashmir for Rs 10,000 at a travel agency owned by Soumitra Kumar Banik. After paying online, the fraudster returned, requesting a ticket cancellation and a refund of Rs 10,000 into his account. Trusting the customer, the agency owner refunded the money.
However, soon after, Tamil Nadu Police contacted the agency owner to inform him that his bank account had been involved in illegal transactions and was blocked. Realizing the deceit, Banik immediately filed a complaint at the East Agartala Police Station.
Following an investigation, the police arrested the fraudster and discovered that he was part of a larger gang operating across the state. The gang’s modus operandi involved making online payments to individuals’ accounts and then retrieving the money, essentially laundering black money.
The gang also rented out ATM cards to people for monthly fees of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000. These rented cards were then used in digital fraud operations. During the raid, police seized a large number of ATM cards, bank passbooks, and cash. Each ATM card had seen transactions worth Rs 25-30 lakh in the past six months.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Piyush Debnath (Bodhjung Nagar), Narayan Debnath (Airport area), Sagar Das (Aralia), Riptadeep Biswas (Nutan Palli), and Rohan Rudra Pal (Housing Board area). Investigations suggest the gang’s network extends beyond Tripura.
The police are continuing their investigation to uncover more members of the fraud network and their operations outside the state.
