Imphal: In a breakthrough, the Cyber Crime unit of the Manipur Police successfully busted a digital payment fraud racket that used counterfeit mobile applications.
Police apprehended two suspects for orchestrating scams with fake versions of the popular “GPay transaction” payment platform.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
The fraudsters targeted shopkeepers, auto-rickshaw drivers, and other unsuspecting members of the public. They showed fabricated transaction confirmation screens to mislead victims into believing payments had been successfully made, causing significant financial losses.
Under the supervision of senior Cyber Crime officers, a team from the Churachandpur district police station, led by Sub Inspector Thianminboi Vaiphei, 2nd officer-in-charge of Churachandpur-PS, launched an investigation.
They acted on complaints from various sources, including a woman shopkeeper at Gangte Veng in Churachandpur district who reported that an unidentified man deceived her by posing as a genuine GPay user.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
The police raided a suspected location in S Kotlian village and detained two suspects for verification: L Seiminlal Haokip (34), son of Seikhomang Haokip from P Laijang village, and his associate Lunkhomang Haokip (40), son of Thangjan-gam from Songjakhopi, both in Churachandpur district.
Police arrested the two on charges of involvement in multiple fraudulent activities targeting shopkeepers across Churachandpur town and the Kangvai and S Kotlian areas. They also registered an FIR under relevant sections of the law at the Churachandpur police station for legal proceedings.
According to the police report, the incident occurred on July 10, around 4.30 pm, when an unidentified man dressed in a white T-shirt and black trousers arrived at the woman’s shop on a black Bullet motorcycle without a registration plate.
The man requested Rs 4,000 in cash and claimed he would transfer the same amount to her bank account via GPay. Since the shopkeeper only had Rs 3,000, she handed over that amount in good faith, trusting him to complete the transfer.
The man pretended to initiate the transaction on his mobile phone and showed the shopkeeper a fabricated screenshot indicating that he had transferred Rs 3,250 to her account.
However, when the shopkeeper checked her phone after he left, she discovered, to her amazement, that he had not made any such transaction, confirming that he had defrauded her.
After receiving the report, police registered a GD entry (No 17/CCP-PS/2025) at the Churachandpur police station.