Pune:
Similar cases have been reported from Nashik, Dharashiv and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and police are collecting information on other possible victims from across Maharashtra. After reaching Thailand, the victims are allegedly transported towards the Myanmar border, where some areas are controlled by armed groups. “Once there, they are allegedly forced to work in cybercrime compounds and carry out online fraud targeting people across the world. Police suspect Indian intermediaries are facilitating the travel of recruits and connecting them with an international trafficking network. Activist Siddhanth Kulkarni, who has been assisting distressed Indians stranded abroad, has shared details of other possible victims with Kanwat.
Pune: A Beed police investigation into the alleged trafficking of a graphic designer to Myanmar has revealed the suspected scale of a cybercrime recruitment network with around 2,000 Indians possibly trapped, according to Beed superintendent of police Navneet Kanwat, who is also the nodal officer investigating such cases. Passport details of around 20 more individuals were provided to the authorities, according to police.
The Beed case is not an isolated incident, according to Kanwat. We are investigating the role of Indian mediators involved in recruiting and transporting these individuals and are coordinating with central agencies and other authorities for their identification and rescue,” Kanwat said. In the Beed case, the suspected mediator is originally from Satara and is currently believed to be near the Myanmar-Thailand border, police said.
It was reportedly traced to an area near the Thailand-Myanmar border, following which contact with him was lost. His passport, mobile phone and other documents were allegedly confiscated, while those failing to meet targets were allegedly assaulted, subjected to electric shocks and threatened with death. On May 7, he allegedly told his mother that unidentified men had taken him away from outside the airport. His brother, speaking to HT on condition of anonymity, said the youth told the family that he was being forced to participate in online cyber fraud and work for around 18 hours a day. The youth managed to share his location with his family on June 17.
He was subsequently transported by boat to an undisclosed location instead of being taken to the promised hotel job, according to his family.
