India News | In a First, Pune Cops Invoke MCOCA Against Nine Persons in Loan App Fraud Case

Pune, Oct 7 (PTI) The stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has been invoked against nine persons arrested earlier in a loan app fraud case, a police official said on Friday.

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The loan app fraud was busted after a call centre was raided in Karnataka capital Bengaluru, leading to the arrests of 18 persons and seizure of data related to personal details of more than one lakh people.

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"One of the arrested accused Dhiraj Punekar and eight of his associates were found to be involved in extortion and cheating through such loan apps, criminal intimidation, misappropriation and other illegal activities for the past 10 years," he said.

"After a detailed study, we were given permission by higher authorities to slap MCOCA provisions against these nine persons," the official added.

Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta said MCOCA has been invoked in a cyber case (loan app fraud) for the first time as extortion was one of the main aspects.

"We are sure this demonstrative action will send a message to cyber criminals that they cannot get away by committing such crimes. In the last two years, Pune police has invoked MCOCA against 670 criminals in 100 cases," Gupta said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)