RS 69-LAKH CYBER THEFT Nikhil Bhardwaj Ludhiana, July 20 Cyber cell of the police has managed to freeze the bank accounts with Rs 34 lakh but the rest of the amount was transferred by the hacker to other accounts. However, the police are yet to identify the hacker who siphoned off Rs 69.9 lakh from the account of Arun Beri, a resident of Basant Road, Civil Lines. Sources said main investigation into the crime was being carried out by the cyber cell, Mohali, and the ACP of cyber cell, Ludhiana Commissionerate, was coordinating with them. The sources said the police had also added Section 120B of the IPC to the FIR as the mobile number of the victim was transferred to some another person a day before stealing money from his bank account through Internet banking. The victim had also blamed Vodafone for closing his mobile number without his request. The DCP, Dhruman Nimbale, said the hacker had transferred the money to five accounts. Four accounts are in the banks of Kolkata and one is in Delhi. After approaching the banks concerned, the police immediately asked them to freeze the accounts. Sources said all five accounts were verified accounts and fulfilled the KYC requirement. Even the said accounts were opened after physical verification. Vodafone issues statement “Vodafone India is a regulatory compliant company and responsible corporate citizen, and values the interests of its customers always. The company is vigilant in ensuring following the mandatory guidelines and protocols that safeguard the privacy and security of our customers. Vodafone is highly intolerant to any wrongdoing and is willing to extend its complete, unrestricted support to the investigating agencies. All our employees, partners, distributors, and vendors are mandated to respect and follow the law and the established code of conduct as per company policy. We treat all violations with utmost seriousness and ensure strict action against such violators, in case of any non-compliance is established,” an official spokesperson for the company said.

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