Belagavi: A major international cyberfraud case unearthed by the Belagavi police on Nov 11, 2025, ran into serious complications after all the suspects managed to secure bail and a stay on further investigation, allegedly due to the police’s poor handling of the case. In a raid on a large-scale fraudulent call centre, police detained 33 suspects, including 5 women, hailing from different states, for allegedly cheating American nationals of millions of dollars through sophisticated online scams. However, all the accused obtained interim bail and subsequently fled. Police utterly failed to produce the proper evidence on time, which could have prevented the court from granting bail.On the second day after the raid, police released the 5 women after issuing warnings, while the remaining 28 male suspects were arrested and produced before a local court. Of these, 4 accused were selected for immediate investigation. With court permission, police examined their laptops and mobile phones, leading to startling revelations.A preliminary analysis of just 4 laptops and 4 mobile phones revealed data related to at least 85 American citizens who were allegedly defrauded using various cybercrime techniques. Senior police sources estimate that the gang may have cheated over 1,000 American nationals out of hundreds of crores of rupees.Police lapsesDespite the gravity of the findings, the handling of the case allegedly allowed the accused to exploit legal loopholes and evade custody. City police commissioner Bhushan Borase did not clarify why the 5 women suspects were not produced before a court after being taken into custody. While the local court rejected the bail pleas of the 28 male suspects initially, the govt later transferred the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the request of commissioner Borase.Justifying the transfer, the commissioner cited international dimensions of the case, and the forthcoming legislature session in Belagavi, which will require his full attention for security preparations. He also pointed out that coordination with Interpol was necessary to record statements of foreign victims and collect evidence, and that specialised cybercrime expertise was not available locally.In a surprising turn, all the suspects got bail in the high court, on the second day after the case was transferred to the CID. The court not only granted bail, but also ordered an immediate stay on further investigation. As a result, neither the local police nor the CID was able to proceed with the probe for the past one-and-a-half months. The next hearing is scheduled for Jan 8.The court order is being seen as a major setback for police, as the suspects have absconded and crucial evidence may be destroyed by them. Reliable sources said Belagavi police were reluctant to place the available evidence before the high court, since the case was already transferred to the CID, leaving the public prosecutor with little material to effectively contest the bail pleas.On Jan 8, Belagavi police are expected to present before the court the same evidence that was earlier produced in the local court, on the basis of which bail was rejected. Police commissioner Bhushan Borase said the department will move to vacate the stay. “We will fight the case to continue the investigation. We have ample material to prove the offence,” he said, adding that bail was granted as the court observed there was no direct victim complaint on record alleging fraud.Modus operandiAccording to police, the masterminds of the cybercrime syndicate are based in West Bengal and Gujarat. The accused used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology and virtual private networks (VPNs) to impersonate US law enforcement or customer service officials. Using pre-written scripts, they threatened victims with legal action or “digital arrest” and coerced them into making payments, often through gift cards, while making the calls appear as though they originated from within the United States.With the next hearing scheduled for Jan 8, the case drew sharp scrutiny, as its outcome could determine whether investigators regain the opportunity to pursue one of the biggest international cyberfraud rackets detected in the region.
