THANE: A work from home offer turned into a trap for job seekers who unknowingly handed over their bank account details, ATM cards and SIM cards to a man who used them to run an online betting racket. Bhiwandi’s Bhoiwada police have arrested 10 men from a premises in Goregaon in connection with the case, while the mastermind remains absconding.

The case came to light after Naved Javed Shaikh, a driver from Bhiwandi, approached the Bhoiwada police last week with a cheating complaint. Shaikh told the police that a man identified as Bhagwandas, whom he had met while working at an e-commerce facility in Padgha, had offered him and others work from home jobs with a company called A Lement in Frames Pvt. Ltd.

Under the pretext of arranging salary payments, Bhagwandas allegedly asked them to hand over their bank account details and related documents.

Starting in April, Shaikh handed him passbooks, ATM cards, cheque books and SIM cards linked to eight bank accounts — including his own, his wife’s and those of six friends and co-workers. However, the promised jobs never materialised, despite repeated follow-ups.

The alleged fraud came to light on October 16, when Shaikh checked his wife’s bank account and discovered that lakhs of rupees had been credited to it by unknown persons. He also found that several beneficiaries had been added to the account, apparently to facilitate the transfer of money to other accounts.

Suspecting that the accounts were being misused, Shaikh approached the police, alleging that Bhagwandas had collected the banking credentials and SIM cards under the guise of offering employment.

Acting on the complaint, the police traced the operation to a room at Royal Palms in Aarey, Goregaon. Investigators allegedly found the accused running an online betting racket through the Khiladi000003 and anna555 apps using laptops and mobile phones.

The police seized 32 mobile phones, 46 ATM cards, 40 SIM cards, four laptops and two bank passbooks during the operation.

The 10 arrested men have been identified as Aniket Ramesh Yadav, 24; Ramesh Santosh Mandal, 26; Khilesh Damodar Yadav, 24; Kundan Ramdev Yadav, 21; Rajaram Dhanu Raut, 26; Atish Bhola Yadav, 20; Ashok Chunchun Yadav, 28; Dilip Kumar Jayman Yadav, 28; Jitendra Kumar Rajendra Yadav, 22; and Santu Chunchun Yadav, 28. They hail from Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

“It appears that the accused were recruited by the main accused from Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. They are technically sound and have studied up to the Class 12 level. However, Bhagwandas is still absconding,” said Rajveer Mohite, senior police inspector at the Bhoiwada police station.

The accused were produced before a Bhiwandi court and remanded to police custody until October 26.

Pawan Bansod, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 2, said the investigation was under way to establish the total amount routed through the accounts and determine whether the case was linked to a larger online betting and cheating network operating across state borders.

“We have arrested the accused, and an investigation is underway to analyse the amount of money transferred through their accounts and determine whether the case is linked to an interstate or larger online betting and cheating racket,” Bansod said.