# Two arrested in Rs 1.5 crore WhatsApp boss scam with Pakistan-China links 2026-08-18T16:14:44+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch has arrested two men from West Bengal for supplying SIM cards and OTPs to an international cyber fraud network that duped a businessman of Rs 1.5 crore via WhatsApp. Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot identified the accused as Imran Ali Piyada and Injamul. The gang allegedly operated on a 'Cybercrime as a Service' model spanning India, China, Pakistan and Hong Kong. The complainant was tricked after receiving a ZIP file on WhatsApp warning of unusual transactions. Fraudsters impersonated RBI officials and then the company owner, instructing the accountant to transfer Rs 1.5 crore. Police recovered Rs 1.13 crore and secured over 10,000 devices from potential 'boss scam' attacks. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre suspects malware was developed in China and used through a call centre in Islamabad. Further investigation is underway. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The story is carried by both sources as a straightforward crime report with no discernible editorial slant. indiatvnews.com leads with the international angle, Pakistan-China links and the large number of devices secured, while rediff.com foregrounds the Rs 1.5 crore quantum and the 'Cybercrime as a Service' business model. Neither outlet deviates into government criticism or praise, both present police claims without independent verification. The divergence is purely in organisational emphasis: indiatvnews.com’s shorter wire-style copy prioritises the arrest and infrastructure, while rediff.com's longer PTI-based version adds investigative detail on the role of SIM-OTP suppliers and the international network analysis by I4C. A careful reader will note that both rely on the same police press release, and the Pakistan-China link remains a preliminary investigation claim, not a proven fact. The next concrete step is further investigation to trace the full network across the four countries cited. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - indiatvnews.com (neutral report) Leads with international connectivity and scale of devices secured - rediff.com (neutral report) Foregrounds Rs 1.5 crore fraud and details the SIM-OTP supply chain This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T18:36:59+00:00. Tags: Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch, Anupam Singh Gehlot Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ahmedabad-busts-boss-scam-with-pakistan-china-links-2-held/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ahmedabad-busts-boss-scam-with-pakistan-china-links-2-held/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/