Jhansi: Tucked away in three inconspicuous villages near the Madhya Pradesh border, a decade-old cyber fraud network allegedly operated in plain sight, targeting victims across India through digital arrests, impersonation and blackmail. The racket came under the scanner on Saturday when a massive pre-dawn police operation led to the arrest of around 50-60 people, including women, while several others were detained for questioning.The accused were allegedly involved in digital arrests and several other cyber frauds, extorting money by threatening victims. They allegedly demanded ransom while posing as police officials, CID personnel and other government officials. The accused also allegedly retrieved copies of FIRs from online portals and used them to blackmail people.The fraud had allegedly been carried out for the past eight to 10 years. “We have made around 50-60 arrests and further interrogations are going on, after which we will be lodging an FIR,” police said.A massive police operation unfolded before dawn, with a heavy force led by SP City Preeti Singh and ASP Areeba Noman, along with several circle officers and police teams from different stations, descending on the three villages between 3 am and 4 am. Equipped with Vajra Vahan and several buses, the teams raided Khauryana, Mauryana and Khador villages under Katera police station, while continuous drone surveillance kept watch over the area until the afternoon.Police teams searched several houses and took scores of people into custody. Those arrested or detained were ferried to Jhansi in police and private buses, leaving residents trying to make sense of the sudden and sweeping operation. The three relatively obscure villages, located near the Madhya Pradesh border, remained at the centre of the police action for several hours.According to ASP Areeba Noman, a large cybercrime racket had been operating from these villages, which had become a hotspot for cyber fraud targeting people across India.The accused were allegedly involved in digital arrests and several other cyber frauds, extorting money by threatening victims. They allegedly demanded ransom while posing as police officials, CID personnel and other government officials. The accused also allegedly retrieved copies of FIRs from online portals and used them to blackmail people.The fraud had allegedly been carried out for the past eight to 10 years. “We have made around 50-60 arrests and further interrogations are going on, after which we will be lodging an FIR,” Noman said.
