Madhya Pradesh Cyber Frauds: Kingpin Untraceable; Police Limited To Arrest Mule Account Holders

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Even as the rising incidents of cyber frauds pose a big challenge, the cyber police have failed in tracing and arresting the kingpin or the members of the gang involved in digital arrests and phishing.

In the eight out of dozen cases cracked since February this year, the action was limited only to the arrest of the mule account holders or the agents involved in selling them to cyber conmen. There was no recovery of lost cash though the lost cash crossed a sum of Rs 1 crore in two cases.

Since February 8, cyber crime branch police arrested 26 people whose bank accounts were used by cyber conmen or they were acting as agents for providing bank accounts and SIM cards to cyber fraudsters. The arrests were made in connection with dozen cases of cyber frauds committed with the people in Bhopal in last two years.

Such cases came to a dead end after the arrest of mule bank account holders. Though bank accounts involved in frauds were sealed, the cash was diverted to other bank accounts by them. Police officials said though the cyber police trace siphoned off cash, the conmen keep diverting the money to different accounts and even convert it to crypto currency, which blocks further investigation.

Cyber cops are continuously tracing the mule account holders and those involved in selling bank accounts and SIM cards on forged documents to conmen in a bid to attack the root of the scams, officials added.

Moreover, the kingpins and other members of cyber fraud gangs usually operate from abroad or from remote parts of the country, which makes it difficult to trace their location, officials further said.

The cases

• June 12: Three mule bank account holders from Rajasthan arrested in case of Rs 18.60 lakh fraud on pretext of investment in crypto currency.

• June 10: Two including minor held from Rajasthan for providing SIM card for creating fake social media account of Additional DCP.

• April 16: Three mule bank account holders and agents held from Rajasthan in a case of digital arrest amounting to Rs 68.49 lakh

• March 28: Five agents nabbed from Bihar for selling mule accounts to conmen involved in a fraud of Rs 1.22 crore on pretext of share trading.

• February 8: Five held for selling mule accounts to fraudsters involved in Rs 1.43 crore share trading scam.

Published on: Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 10:49 PM IST