Bhubaneswar: During a Cyber Kawach special operation, police on Saturday busted an organised cyber fraud racket. Acting on a tip-off about a fraud syndicate operating in Dumduma area, police arrested Omkar Shankar Prajapati along with his associates, Kundan Borkate, a resident of Nagpur, and Ashutosh Lenka. Police said through this syndicate, mule accounts were used for routing and laundering money obtained through online gaming, betting, crypto trading, gambling apps and other illegal online transactions.“The accused were fraudulently luring innocent and poor people, especially from slum areas, with promise of easy income, and collecting multiple bank accounts, ATM cards, SIM cards and banking credentials in their names. These accounts were used for illegal fund transfers and withdrawals. The accused were receiving commission of Rs 30,000 per savings account and Rs 50,000 per current account,” a police officer said.After sustained interrogation, Omkar admitted to his involvement and revealed detailed information about the syndicate’s modus operandi. During a digital search of his mobile phone, crucial criminal digital evidence was found, including suspicious chats, banking credentials, financial transaction records and digital wallet access.In another case, Mancheswar police here busted another racket involving mule bank accounts and arrested Nabin Kumar Panda.The investigation revealed that the accused, Nabin, with his associates Prakash Muduli from Jharkhand, Sunil Nayak, Rakesh Mahanti, Elina Das and Mayanka Kumar, ran a well-organised cyber fraud syndicate, obtaining money. “As sufficient prima facie evidence was found against the accused under relevant sections of law, he was produced in court, which remanded him in judicial custody. Further investigation is underway to identify and arrest other associates,” a police officer said.
