At 9, Ezra Street in Kolkata, the centrepiece of a Rs 317 crore cyberfraud probe in which industrialist Pawan Ruia has been named accused, stands a dilapidated, three-storeyed, colonial-era building with exposed patches of bricks and a jumble of hanging electricity wires. On its top floor, nameplates of six companies hang outside a 5×7 sq ft room, called ‘Room No. 47’.

Among them, only Melrose Creation Private Limited is one of the five shell companies named in the FIR. The other four firms are Hughli Machineries Pvt Ltd, Gain E Commerce, Dahisar Traders Pvt Ltd, Xettle Technologies Pvt Ltd.

According to the Cyber Crime Wing of the West Bengal Police, which unearthed the “organised cybercrime network” after launching a probe into an individual complaint in April 2024, the racket involves

See Full Page