Fraudster held in Mymensingh

Mymensingh's detective branch of police detained a fraudster on Monday who used to obtain money illegally from his victims by impersonating the voices of influential people.   

The detainee, Swapan Mandal, 36, used to make phone calls to targeted people and impersonate high officials of the government. Then, he asked them to send money to his bKash wallet instantly. 

It took time for the victims to realise that they had been cheated.  

Seeking anonymity, one such victim from Bhaluka said that he had sent TK10,000 to Swapan's bKash account a few days ago. 

Swapan Mandal phoned him as the Police Superintendent of Sirajganj and asked him to send money, the victim said. 

But after investigating the matter, the victim found Swapan's mobile phone switched off, and then realised that he had been cheated. 

The victim filed a complaint at the local police station. 

Later, Mymensingh police learnt that the detective branch of Dhaka was also looking for the same person for cheating people.

Earlier, Swapan Mandal had been arrested for impersonating the former Minister for Religious Affairs Professor Motiur Rahman. 

Police sources said that Swapan used to cheat people by voice cloning. He used to impersonate political leaders, administrative officers, secretaries of different ministries, and the DIG of police.  

Sub-Inspector Nazim, of the detective branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said that Swapan made a phone call to a Mahila Awami League leader by cloning the voice of Ahmed Hossain, general secretary of the central Awami League. 

"At that time, Swapan asked for Tk500,000 from the Mahila Awami League leader to establish a charity organisation. A case was filed at Ramna Police Station on July 25, 2019 in this regard. Police have been after him since then," he said. 

Swapan started the fraudulent activities from 2014. He targeted people who were too materialistic and wanted to get success in a short time. 

He started his cheating career by deceiving a political party activist. And he took Tk11,000 from a student wing activist by telling him that he would get the activist a top position in the party. 

Dr Abul Mansur, a psychologist and criminal specialist said that cheating materialistic people is easy.

"When someone shows materialistic people how to become rich or get benefitted in a short time, they are trapped. But it is tough to cheat businessmen. If you cheat respectable people, you have less chances of getting caught," Dr Mansur said. 

It is also known that Swapan is divorced because of his fraudulent nature. 

Shah Kamal Akand, officer-in-charge (OC) of Mymensingh detective branch also said that Swapan cheated people by cloning the voices of high government officials. 

"We have seized 16 mobile numbers (SIM cards) from his possession. He used the phone numbers for cheating. We arrested him from Bhaluka in Mymensingh," Shah Kamal Akand added. 

We have also seized Tk60,000 from his bKash account that he obtained by deceiving a municipality councillor of Bhaluka, and a case has been filed against him, the OC added.