2 arrested from Maharashtra, hunt on for another suspect
The network swindled Rs 189 crore from victims
Mysuru: In a major breakthrough, Mysuru district police have cracked an all India network of cyber fraudsters while investigating a case registered at Mysuru district cybercrime police station by arresting two from Maharashtra, and a hunt is on for another suspect who is absconding.Superintendent of police Mallikarjuna Baladandi on Tuesday said that the arrested men were managing 56 mule bank accounts that were allegedly used to dupe 196 individuals in various cybercrime cases reported across India. Investigators estimate that around Rs 189 crore was swindled from victims through multiple fraud models, including investment scams, job fraud, forex-related fraud and other online cheating methods using these 56 bank accounts, which have been frozen.He explained that on Jan 27, Jitendra Kumar Khandelwal, a gold trader from KR Nagar, reported that unknown individuals contacted him via WhatsApp, convincing him to pay a total of Rs 13.7 lakh for 100 grams of gold at a reduced rate of Rs 600 per gram, but then defrauded him without delivering the gold.During investigation of this case, it was found that the accused Amit Singh from Punjab, Yatin Ramesh Jain, and Mohammad Shadab Anjum, both from Maharashtra, were involved in the case. Acting on a clue, the cybercrime police team involving DSP R Srikanth and inspector Sunil SP arrested Yatin and Anjum from their residences in Maharashtra. The prime accused, Amit Singh, is still on the run, the SP said.The accused have allegedly opened 56 bank accounts using identity records of labourers in Maharashtra to receive proceeds of crimes from the victims’ bank accounts. So far, about 196 cyber complaints have been filed against them across various states, including 12 in Karnataka, and the loss is estimated at Rs 189.5 crore in cyber fraud.He said an investigation has been launched to probe how all three teamed up and others involved in the cyber crimes. So far, no money has been recovered, but the bank accounts have been blocked to facilitate investigation.
