Panchkula: Court dismisses bail plea of prime accused in fake call centre racket | Hindustan Times

Panchkula: Court dismisses bail plea of prime accused in fake call centre racket

By, Panchkula
Published on: Sep 29, 2025 07:24 AM IST

On August 21, police had busted three illegal call centres operating from two buildings in the IT Park; one of these centres was linked to the prime accused

The court of additional sessions judge Neeru Kamboj has dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Mohammed Arif Shaikh alias Arif Shaikh, 41, a resident of Maharashtra and one of the prime accused in the fake call centre racket busted at IT Park, Sector 22. The order was passed on September 23.

The prosecution opposed bail, arguing that the accused had not joined the investigation and was key to retrieving incriminating digital evidence. (HT Photo)
The prosecution opposed bail, arguing that the accused had not joined the investigation and was key to retrieving incriminating digital evidence. (HT Photo)

Shaikh had sought bail in a case registered at Chandimandir police station on August 21 under Sections 318(4), 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Sections 66, 66D and 75 of the IT Act, and Section 42(3) of the Telecommunication Act.

On August 21, police had busted three illegal call centres operating from two buildings in the IT Park. One of these centres, run at TBM, DHL Square, was linked to Shaikh. The centres allegedly contacted US citizens posing as customer service representatives of Spectrum, AT&T, XFINITY and CenturyLink. Through the Microsip-8001 dialer, the employees misled callers on the pretext of providing technical support.

At the time of the raid, 13 employees, including 11 men and two women, were found working on desktops and talking in English with foreign customers. Police recovered laptops, CPUs, two network modems and 3.20 lakh in cash.

Investigations revealed that the company, operating under the name Total Business Management, had four shareholders—Arif Shaikh of Mumbai, Akil Shaikh of Pune, Hardik and Koshik. Using remote access tools such as AnyDesk and TeamViewer, the accused allegedly stole data and extorted money ranging from $100 to $5,000, which was transferred through online gift cards.

The prosecution opposed bail, arguing that Shaikh had not joined the investigation and was key to retrieving incriminating digital evidence. The court held that custodial interrogation was necessary for recovery and discovery of facts, and dismissed his plea.

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