Allahabad HC Upholds Arrest of 119 in Alleged US Call Centre Fraud Case

The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench on Tuesday upheld the arrest and subsequent judicial remand of 119 people allegedly caught operating a fake cyber call centre used to dupe US citizens, holding that the reasons for their arrest had been communicated through the recovery memo.

A bench of Justice Rajnish Kumar and Justice Babita Rani dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by 14 of the accused, who had challenged their arrest and remand on the grounds that the reasons for their arrest had not been communicated to them.

The case relates to a June 30 police raid at around 10:30 pm following information that a fake cyber call centre was being operated from the 11th floor of Summit Building in Vibhuti Khand, Lucknow. Police found 119 people, including 92 men and 27 women, at the premises.

According to the prosecution, the call centre was allegedly being used to dupe US citizens by posing as officials of various US government agencies and companies.

Police allegedly recovered 103 laptops, 116 headphones, 111 laptop chargers, 68 iPhones and 109 mobile phones, besides a biometric machine, router and other items.

The accused were arrested on July 1 and produced before a magistrate on July 2, after which they were remanded in judicial custody.

The petitioners alleged that they had been kept in illegal custody for more than 24 hours and that their relatives were not informed promptly. They also claimed that the grounds and reasons for their arrest had not been communicated.

The bench rejected the allegation of illegal detention beyond 24 hours, noting the large number of people involved and the substantial quantity of electronic devices recovered.

On informing relatives, the court found that police had contacted the persons nominated by the accused over phone. However, failure to make a corresponding entry in the relevant records was held to be a procedural lapse.

The court observed that the lapse, by itself, would not render the entire arrest illegal. Since the grounds and reasons for arrest had been communicated through the recovery memo, the arrests and subsequent remand could not be invalidated on that basis.

The bench clarified that its order would not affect the merits of the criminal case, bail proceedings or trial.