Notorious Call Centre Scamster’s ‘Guru’ Nabbed by Thane Cops

Main accused Sagar Thakkar alias Shaggy worked under Jagdish Kanani, from whom he learnt the tricks of the trade.

The alleged mastermind Sagar Thakkar’s mentor Jagdish Kanani was arrested from suburban Borival. Image used for representational purpose. (Photo: iStock)

A Mumbai businessman who ‘mentored’ Sagar Thakkar alias Shaggy – the alleged mastermind of the multi-million dollar fake call centre racket where US-based taxpayers were allegedly conned by Indian tele-callers – has been arrested, police said on Monday.

The 33-year-old, identified as Jagdish Kanani was arrested from suburban Borivali Sunday night, a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity.

According to police, Thakkar, who is on the run, has worked under Kanani in the past at Ahmedabad and Mumbai, where he and some of his associates picked up the tricks of the trade from his 'Guru'.

In fact, Kanani started out working in a BPO firm abroad where he learnt the methods of collection through outsourcing firms and brushed up on his knowledge to build a lucrative business and then set up fake call centres across the country to earn a quick buck by extorting money from US victims, the officer said.

Also read: Call Centre Workers from Maharashtra Extort Crores from Americans

A Prized Catch

Kanani appeared on the police’s radar after leads emerged during interrogation of the arrested accused in the racket, the officer said.

His arrest will help the cops dig deeper into the con syndicate which has spread its tentacles nationwide, including in cities like Gurgaon, Ahmedabad and Thane, he said.

The officer said that Kanani was the brains behind the fake call centres across the country including the one at Mira Road, which was raided by Thane Police earlier this month. He is suspected to have helped Thakkar in shaping and setting up his ventures.

“Now that we have arrested him, we will get to know the whereabouts of Thakkar and others, whom he also mentored,” the police officer added.

Crime Branch (Thane Police) have so far arrested 70 persons after it raided seven call centres operating illegally in Mira Road. Another 630 people were booked under IPC sections 384 (extortion), 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating) and under relevant sections of IT Act and Indian Telegraph Act.

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