Varanasi: Azamgarh Police on Tueday busted a well-organised cyber fraud network in the district linked to 448 cyber complaints across the country, and arrested four individuals near Durvasa Temple.The arrested individuals have been identified as Sudhakar, Nitin Mishra, Navneet Singh, and Sumit Singh, all residents of Azamgarh district. The police team is conducting raids for the arrest of other absconding accused. They were found involved in the transaction of money obtained through cyber fraud across the country via fake firms and bank accounts.The arrests were made under a special campaign, “Cyber Thagi Ke Jad Mein War” being run against cyber criminals in Azamgarh district by the SSP Anil Kumar, a joint team of cyber cell, Azamgarh and Aharaula police station.According to police, in the preliminary investigation, the accused were found to be connected with hundreds of cyber-crime complaints registered in various states of the country.On Tuesday, during the checking of suspicious persons and vehicles, important information was received from the investigation of mule accounts on the Samanvaya portal. The cyber cell found that bank accounts opened in the name of fake firms in the State Bank of India were being used for the transaction of money obtained through cyber fraud.During the financial analysis, it emerged that a total of 448 cyber complaints were found registered on the NCRP portal in relation to these accounts. The investigation also revealed that suspicious transactions of approximately Rs. 40 lakh were carried out in a single bank account within just three days. The police also succeed in freezing an amount of around Rs. 10 lakh related to a cyber crime.Police said that the gang members created fake firms and, in collusion with bank employees, opened current accounts in their names. The current accounts were used for large-scale and continuous transactions of money, so that the money obtained through cyber fraud could be quickly transferred to various accounts.They would get firms and bank accounts opened in the names of innocent persons by luring or deceiving them. After that, taking the passbook, chequebook, ATM card, and registered mobile number in their possession, they would receive, withdraw, and transfer the money obtained through cyber fraud into these accounts. Later, this illegal money was distributed among the members of the gang.The police recovered 6 ATM/Debit cards, forged seals, fake Aadhaar card, PAN card, and Voter ID card, 2 blank cheques, a foreign SIM card, 4 mobile phones, identity cards issued in the names of various persons, a vehicle and a motorcycle from the accused.A case under Sections 318(4)/338/336(3)/340(2)/111 BNS 66C IT Act was registered at Aharaula police station.
