Court upholds arrest of 119 in fake cyber call centre case targeting US citizens
The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench has upheld the arrest and subsequent remand of 119 people allegedly caught operating a fake cyber call centre to dupe US citizens, ruling that the grounds for their arrest had been communicated through the recovery memo.
A bench of Justices Rajnish Kumar and Babita Rani dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by 14 of the accused, who challenged their arrest and remand, claiming they had not been informed of the reasons for their arrest.
The case stems from a police raid at around 10.30 pm on June 30 following information that a fake cyber call centre was being operated from the 11th floor of Summit Building in Lucknow’s Vibhuti Khand.
Police found 119 people at the premises, including 92 men and 27 women. They allegedly recovered 103 laptops, 116 headphones, 111 laptop chargers, 68 iPhones, 109 mobile phones, a biometric machine and a router, among other electronic devices.
According to the prosecution, the call centre was allegedly being used to target US citizens by posing as officials of various US government agencies and companies.
The accused were arrested on July 1 and produced before a magistrate the following day, after which they were remanded in judicial custody.
The petitioners claimed they had been kept in illegal custody for more than 24 hours and that the grounds and reasons for their arrest had not been communicated to them. They also alleged that their relatives were not informed promptly.
The High Court rejected the allegation of illegal detention, noting the large number of people involved and the substantial quantity of electronic devices recovered during the raid.
On the issue of informing relatives, the court found that police had contacted the persons nominated by the accused over the phone. However, it noted that the failure to make a corresponding entry in the relevant records amounted to a procedural lapse.
The bench said the lapse, by itself, did not make the arrests illegal.
The court further observed that since the grounds and reasons for arrest had been communicated through the recovery memo, the arrests and subsequent remand could not be invalidated on the basis of the procedural irregularity.
The High Court clarified that its order would not affect the merits of the criminal case, the accused’s bail proceedings or the trial.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 15, 2026 23:57 IST
