Three Arrested in Thane for Alleged Debt Collection Harassment

Three individuals have been arrested in Thane, Maharashtra, for allegedly harassing people under the guise of debt collection. The accused include a telecom company representative who issued illicit SIM cards and two call centre operators. Electronic equipment was seized, and the police commissioner urged citizens to report such incidents.

In a significant crackdown, Thane police have arrested three individuals accused of harassing people under the pretext of debt collection, authorities stated on Tuesday. The arrests were made following a complaint about abusive and obscene phone calls from debt collectors earlier this month.

The Anti-Extortion Cell of the Thane crime branch identified and detained Rahul Kumar Tilakdhari Dubey (33), who is associated with a telecom company. Dubey allegedly issued SIM cards under customers' names without their knowledge, passing the information to a loan recovery call centre, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Crime Shivraj Patil.

Additionally, a call centre in Bhayandar was raided, resulting in the arrests of Shubham Kalicharan Ojha (29) and Amit Mangala Pathak (33). The police seized electronic equipment, including hard disks, a GSM gateway, and mobile phones. All three accused are in police custody until July 10. Thane City Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre has urged citizens to report any harassment or abusive language from loan recovery agents to their local police stations.

(With inputs from agencies.)