Jamtara man arrested for ‘duping’ Chandigarh residents with fake Adani Gas disconnection threats
A 23-year-old man, Bimal Kumar Mandal, from Jharkhand's Jamtara, has been arrested by the Chandigarh Police Cyber Crime unit for allegedly duping Chandigarh residents with fake Adani Gas disconnection threats. Mandal posed as an Adani Gas representative and contacted customers via WhatsApp messages and calls, claiming their bills were pending or needed updating.
He sent them malicious APK files, which when installed, allowed him unauthorized access to their mobile phones. Through debit cards, credit cards, and UPI, he conducted unauthorized transactions, causing victims to lose around Rs 6 lakh.
According to the police, Mandal obtained Adani Gas customer data and malicious APK files from another individual through Telegram. He used this data to contact Adani Gas consumers through WhatsApp, claiming their bills were due or connections needed updating. Upon instruction, victims downloaded the APK files, giving Mandal access to their devices. Mandal then carried out transactions using the victims' financial instruments. Ten mobile phones were recovered from Mandal, containing customer data and APK files.
The investigation suspects an insider employee of Adani Gas provided Mandal with customer data. The accused was sent to judicial custody after five days of police remand. Ongoing investigations aim to identify and arrest other members of the cyber-fraud network.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
