In a significant breakthrough in the fight against fake call centers, the Bidhannagar Police, in association with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has successfully recorded the statements of five American victims who fell prey to a large-scale scam. Bidhannagar police has also arrested the operators and seized Rs 4 crore from the two flats in New Town.

This year between 2nd March to 15 March Bidhannagar police had arrested 124 person including the kingpins, Saurabh and Gaurav Soni, from Howrah and sealed 13 fake call centres. While raiding the buildings police teams recovered an unlicensed gun and lists of many victims.

After being in judicial custody for 70 days the key accused got bail due to the lack of evidence and absence of victims. To plug the hole, Bidhannagar police turned to the FBI with a database list of suspected victims in the US. Following tips from Bidhannagar police, the FBI has tracked down the five victims and registered their claims. In the next course of action, the Salt Lake Court Magistrates will note the applications of five US citizens who have lost approximately 10 lakh US dollars (Rs. 8.2 billion).

“In this case, we are dealing with international rackets based in New Town, Salt Lake and Calcutta, but we have agents all over the world. The call center could be closed, but with no victims, most of whom were from overseas, we struggled to get the investigation admitted in court. Here, the FBI assisted us in tracing some of the victims and collecting statements based on the data we provided,” said a senior police officer of Bidhannagar.

The partnership between Bidhannagar Police and FBI to obtain reports from US victims is seen as an important step towards bringing those responsible for these fraudulent call centers to justice. This concerted effort sends a strong signal to those who engage in such criminal activity that their actions will not go unpunished and that law enforcement agencies around the world are determined to protect those at risk. Innocent victims of these scams.