Hyderabad Police arrest six in crackdown on IGNITE money circulation scheme

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Six persons were arrested from four States as part of “Operation Ignite Crackdown”, aimed at dismantling an alleged money circulation scheme operating under the name IGNITE. Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said that the action was taken within 18 days of the formation of IGNITE’s Indian entity, preventing what investigators believe could have developed into a fraud worth ₹5,000 crore. He said the investigation had identified the involvement of individuals previously associated with QNET and found similarities between the two networks. The arrests were made in Kerala, West Bengal, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Those arrested were identified as Oneal Gupta, alleged recruiter and team leader; Dinesh Kumar Saahil and Priyanshu Saxena, directors of Indi Konnect Ventures Pvt Ltd; Praveen Kumar Dakalia and Paritosh Kumar Dakalia, directors of Parasnath Mercantile Pvt Ltd; and Riyaz, an alleged field recruiter from Kerala. Sajjanar said three complaints were received between June 5 and June 6 from Hyderabad residents who allegedly paid amounts ranging from ₹61,639 to ₹63,899 after being recruited through different channels, including WhatsApp messages, Zoom presentations and face-to-face interactions. The total amount lost by the three victims was ₹1.87 lakh. According to the Commissioner, investigators found that despite the different recruitment methods, all three victims were directed to transfer money to the same bank account belonging to Parasnath Mercantile Pvt Ltd, indicating a common collection infrastructure. He said the case was initially registered through three separate FIRs at Panjagutta, SR Nagar and Kachiguda police stations before being transferred to the Central Crime Station after investigators suspected the emergence of a new entity linked to QNET. The commissioner said preliminary investigation showed that IGNITE was operating through Indi Konnect Ventures Pvt Ltd, which was incorporated on May 18 this year. He said the company’s memorandum openly referr