Cyber-criminals aren’t exactly known for their compassion, but what this 28-year-old did may just be a new low. 

A graduate in computer application has been arrested from Uttar Pradesh for preying on the grief of over 900 families from Delhi-NCR whose children had gone missing. He would get the parents’ details from a missing persons’ register, call them up and pose as a police official. He would then claim that the child has been found in a different city and ask the parents to transfer some money to help the cops get them back, a police official said. 

The elated parents would transfer the sum and look forward to finally reuniting with their children, only to find out that they had been scammed. They would also have to confront their grief all over again. 

How The Scam Worked

On November 15, the Wazirabad police station in north Delhi received a complaint from a father in the area to report that his daughter had gone missing. After noting down the information, the police officials registered a report and then uploaded the details of the child and her family to the missing person’s portal of the Delhi Police. 

The parents then received a call from a man, who claimed that their daughter had been found and they should transfer Rs 8,000 using a QR code he had sent to help get her back. The amount was transferred, but the parents never heard from the person again. A complaint was filed and the police formed a team to trace the accused.

Multiple Instances

“in the past few days, we received multiple written and verbal complaints from parents in the North Delhi district that their missing child had been found and they had paid money to police personnel but they got no response after that, or were not reunited with their child. During our investigation, we found out about a gang that would retrieve the numbers of parents of missing children from publicly available databases and call them up,” said Manoj Kumar Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police, North Delhi.

The databases include ZIPNet (Zonal Integrated Police Network) and other such platforms.

Mr Meena said the accused would pose as a police officer. “He would say the child has been recovered and ask for a small sum saying that the child was in other cities, like Dehradun, and the money was needed to get them back. The parents would transfer the amount. One such incident took place under the Wazirabad police station, where Rs 8,000 was taken from a family to get their daughter back,” he added.

The police officer said when they investigated the case, they found that the accused was  Shyamsundar Chauhan from Mau in Uttar Pradesh, a 28-year-old who had completed his Bachelor of Computer Application degree from Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

“He had scammed several people this way and, after we arrested him from Mau, we found he had cheated 41 people from North Delhi and 904 people from Delhi-NCR. He would misuse a parent’s love for their child to earn money. He has been arrested and the cases have been solved,” said Mr Meena.

A police official said Chouhan would deliberately ask for small amounts, ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 40,000 so that the families would not report the scam to the police. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said India’s ties with Canada may have undergone “a tonal shift” following the indictment of an Indian national in the US for plotting an assassination attempt on a Khalistani terrorist on American soil.

“I think there is a beginning of an understanding that they can’t bluster their way through this and there is an openness to collaborating in a way that perhaps they were less open before,” Trudeau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

He said the US indictment appears to have convinced the Indian government to adopt a more sober tone. “There’s an understanding that maybe, maybe just churning out attacks against Canada isn’t going to make this problem go away.” “We don’t want to be in a situation of having a fight with India right now over this,” he said. “We want to be working on that trade deal. We want to be advancing the Indo-Pacific strategy.

But it is foundational for Canada to stand up for people’s rights, for people’s safety, and for the rule of law. And that’s what we’re going to do.” The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations on September 18 of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.

India rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

In November, the US federal prosecutors charged that one Nikhil Gupta was working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada. Though the separatist Sikh leader was not named, media reports identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the Sikhs for Justice, an organisation banned in India.

India has already constituted a probe committee to investigate allegations.

Last week, Trudeau said that his decision to make allegations in public was intended to “put a chill” on them from repeating a similar action.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha earlier this month that Canada has not shared any specific evidence or inputs with India.

Days after Trudeau’s allegations in September, India temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country to ensure parity.

India resumed some visa services in Canada last month, more than a month after they were suspended.

On Wednesday, Ram Charan, along with his wife Upasana Konidela and daughter Klin Kaara, was seen in Mumbai. The actor and his family visited the Mahalakshmi temple, and pictures and videos of their visit have been shared online.

Ram was clicked wearing a white shirt and trousers, walking barefoot after coming out of the temple. He was seen with his wife Upasana, who was dressed in blue, and their baby Klin Kaara.