Varanasi, Aug. 22 -- Twenty-nine people have been arrested in Varanasi for operating two fake call centres under the guise of stock market investment and trading services. According to police, 26 of the accused belong to an inter-state cyber fraud gang, while three others were part of a separate group. The call centres were located in two buildings, one near Sigra intersection and another in Madahiya. Both premises have been sealed following the arrests. Deputy commissioner of police (crime), Sarvanan T, confirmed the arrests. Police recovered nine laptops worth approximately Rs 5 lakh, a tablet worth Rs 40,000, 54 mobile phones, six Aadhaar cards, one driving license, four PAN cards, 15 debit and credit cards, 13 passbooks, 15 cheque books, and four bank-related letters. At least 27 complaints had been lodged against the accused on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP), with the total fraud amount estimated at Rs 31.33 lakh. Assistant commissioner of police (cyber crime), Vidush Saxena, said that a joint team of Cyber Crime Unit, Sigra Police and Luxa Police carried out the arrests. The accused contacted victims by phone, offering fraudulent investment opportunities in the share market. After convincing people to invest, they initially showed fake profits and later manipulated data to show losses, diverting the invested funds for personal gain. The arrested individuals include Krishna Kumar, 30, a resident of Chhattisgarh; Dhananjay Chauhan, 30, of Ghazipur; Divyanshu Upadhyay of Varanasi; Prakhar Dwivedi, 25, of Chandauli; Chandan Pandey, 29, of Bhabhua, Bihar; and 21 others. A case has been registered at Sigra Police Station under Sections 316(2), 319(2), and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act. In a separate incident, another fake call centre operating in a building opposite Singh Medical Centre in Matvahiya, under Sigra police station jurisdiction, was busted. This centre was also involved in deceiving people by offering fraudulent investment schemes in the share market. A case was registered against four individuals under Sections 318(2), 318(4) of the BNS and Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act. Three people were arrested in this case, including Ritika Yadav, 23, Dheeraj Dubey, 30, and Shivam Yadav, 25, all residents of Varanasi or nearby areas. During interrogation, the accused revealed that they collected personal data through misleading advertisements on social media platforms. A 54-year-old property dealer was shot dead by three bike-borne masked attackers in the Sarnath area of Varanasi on Thursday morning, police said. The incident took place in Arihant Nagar Colony where the three attackers opened fire on Mahendra Gautam, a local property dealer, a police officer said. Passers-by rushed Gautam to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival, he added. The body is sent for post-mortem examination. The officer said that after the incident, the miscreants fled. Based on the complaint, a case has been registered and further investigation is on....