Mohali, July 18 -- In a major crackdown, the Mohali cyber crime police have busted an online gaming fraud worth Rs.18 crore and arrested eight accused involved in the racket. The gang, operating out of Kharar, allegedly duped people across the country by luring them with fake promises of high returns through an online gaming platform.

The arrested accused are identified as Pankaj Goswami, Bhaven Kumar Ulke, Gurpreet Singh, Manjeet Singh, Nikhil Kumar, Ajay, Harsh Kumar and Ritesh Majhi. They are undergraduates and graduates.

According to SSP Harmandeep Singh Hans, the gang created a fraudulent website, www.allpanelexch.com, to trap victims. They circulated doctored WhatsApp messages showing fake earnings and offered incentives to create...