Berhampur: A court in Ganjam district has issued a 14-day notice to a 27-year-old man for the attachment of his properties, allegedly purchased by operating mule accounts and assisting cybercriminals, police said on Friday.The judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Khallikote, issued the notice on Feb 25 to Sushant Sahu of Beguniapada police station area for attachment of his house and land in Berhampur, which are worth around Rs 35 lakh in benchmark value, under 107 (5) of BNSS.
It was the first case of attachment under BNSS in the state, police claimed.Ganjam superintendent of police (SP) Suvendu Kumar Patra said Sahu was arrested on Dec 2 last year for allegedly operating mule accounts for the cyberfrauds. He was a significant broker who allegedly encouraged villagers to sell their bank accounts and ID cards for commissions. He had also allegedly floated a company to operate the accounts.In one of his bank accounts, over Rs 1 crore transactions had allegedly taken place in just three days. During investigation by Purushottampur subdivisional police officer Sujit Nayak, the accused could not explain the bulk transaction in just three days.Police also found the accused had bought certain properties in Berhampur with the money he had received during such activities. After due diligence and investigation involving GST and revenue department officials, the investigation officer moved the court for attachment of his properties.Police said two cases were pending against Sahu at Khallikote and Berhampur cyber police station.The Ganjam SP said they registered 36 cases for operating mule accounts and arrested 23 people, including maximum eight in Hinjili police station area, in a special drive under “Operation cyber kavach” in the last one week.Notices have been served to 66 people. The SP said around Rs 8 crore worth fraudulent transactions and 678 mule accounts have been detected in the district.
