Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 21 (ANI): A man has been arrested after he opened fire at cops who tried to stop him during a vehicle check, police said.

The accused, who was riding a motorcycle without a number plate, was injured in the leg and taken into custody.

Lucknow DCP Nipun Agarwal said, 'On 17 February, an incident of chain snatching occurred with a woman named Rita Jha. We immediately formed teams. A man was riding a bike without a number plate today. When the police tried to stop him, he began firing.'

Police recovered a .315 bore pistol and a chain from his possession. 'During interrogation, he confessed to the February 17 chain snatching incident. Cases under serious sections like rape and extortion are registered against him,' Agarwal added.

Further investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, a dedicated team of the Inter-State Cell (ISC) of the Crime Branch, Delhi Police, busted an organised network involved in fake online trading scams and arrested four key accused from Kolkata and Lucknow earlier in January, police said.

According to officials, the gang lured people with promises of high returns through fake trading apps and Telegram groups, cheating victims of several crores of rupees. The accused employed a multi-layered modus operandi to gain the victims' trust. Initial contact was established through WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Facebook via attractive advertisements offering 'online trading investments' or 'guaranteed high returns.'

Interested victims were then added to Telegram groups with names such as 'Ventura Securities,' 'Go Market Global,' and 'IPO Stock Trading,' impersonating legitimate brokers, according to the police. They further mentioned that victims were made to download fraudulent apps that displayed manipulated trading dashboards showing fictitious profits. To build confidence, a small amount of 'profit' was initially credited, encouraging victims to invest larger sums.

Later, demands were raised for taxes, fees or 'activation charges' in the name of withdrawals. Once substantial amounts were transferred, victims suffered complete losses. Police said these fake platforms closely resembled genuine trading applications but had no approval from any regulatory authority. No legitimate broker operates solely through unverified apps or Telegram groups. The investigation revealed that the criminals procured mule bank accounts through handlers based in India.

Complete account details, including account number, IFSC, registered mobile number and customer ID, were shared with the scammers. The mobile numbers linked to these accounts had Mighty App or APK files installed, which automatically shared transaction OTPs, the police mentioned. During the probe, data from the I4C platform was analysed. Money trails and KYC details from more than 200 bank branches were examined, leading to the detection of current accounts opened using fake profiles.

Police said Rajibb Shah linked the entire fraud network to Cambodia-based operators handling crypto transactions and named associates operating in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata and Bihar. Police further stated that more than 260 bank accounts were opened in the names of 105 fake companies, with 2,567 NCRP complaints from various states involving fraud exceeding Rs 300 crore. The network had been active for the past four to five years and evaded law enforcement using technical expertise and legal loopholes. (ANI)