SRINAGAR: J&K Police on Sunday said that it has identified six accused individuals, with one already arrested from Tamil Nadu, in connection with the alleged multi-crore scam by a company named ‘Curative Survey Private Limited.’
While talking to The New Indian a senior police official of Cyber Crime Kashmir said, “ Based on the statements of victims, technical and digital evidence, a Special Investigation Team (SIT)-which was constituted to carry out the investigation has identified six accused persons, all residents outside the J&K.
“Different police teams were constituted to arrest the identified accused persons. One accused person has been arrested by the SIT from Tamil Nadu and is taken on police remand,” he said, adding efforts are underway to arrest the remaining accused persons as well.
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The company is accused of scamming a huge number of people in both Kashmir and the Jammu division and then disappearing with their invested money. On December 19 this year, it was learnt that a bogus company operating under the name ‘Curative Survey Private Limited’ scammed and cheated a huge number of people through a fraudulent website by falsely promising them significant returns on their investments.
“The company had deceived the subscribers, persuading them to invest their hard-earned money with fake promises of returns. After misrepresenting and cheating, the company became unresponsive, leaving subscribers in the dark and leading to chaos, anguish and protests, said a senior police official of Cyber Crime Kashmir.
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Accordingly, an FIR under Section 66D of the IT Act and Section 420 of the IPC was registered at the Cyber Police Station in Kashmir Zone-Srinagar. Taking into account the serious nature of the crime, the police constituted an SIT to investigate the case.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the company had opened six offices in the Kashmir valley and one regional office in Jammu in January-February 2023. All seven offices were subsequently searched, and sealed, and the incriminating evidence found in these offices was seized and sent to the FSL for analysis and expert opinion. The police authorities stated that numerous employees of the company from across J&K were identified, examined and their statements recorded.
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Additionally, several victims also approached the SIT, and their statements were recorded. While talking about the total figure of this amount that has been scammed, the police official of Cyber Crime Kashmir told TNI, “ Our assessment in this regard is underway by way of collection of related evidence and the statements of witnesses.” He further added, “ All the company’s account numbers have been debit-frozen, and further investigation is ongoing.”
As per the police, the involvement of employees and local contacts of the main accused persons is also under investigation. Regarding the role of those who promoted the company in Kashmir, the police official said, “The social media influencers who promoted the company through various social media platforms were also examined, and their involvement in the crime is under investigation too. ”
