Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Investigation by the Itkhedi police has revealed that the interstate cyber fraud gang busted on Sunday was involved in transactions worth Rs 1.50 crore linked to cybercrimes in different states.
Police officials said that the amount was routed through the bank account of one of the arrested accused Manish Patel which was already frozen in connection with cybercrimes elsewhere in the country.
The gang was busted when it held one Omprakash Verma of Agra hostage. Verma, the president of Rashtra Raksha Dal, was called to Bhopal on the pretext of transferring charity funds in the trust’s bank account. Police rescued Verma and arrested five members of the gang.
The gang members belonging to different districts of Bhopal were living on rent in Kolar area.
Itkhedi police station in-charge Ashish Sapre said suspicious cash transactions in one of the accused Manish Patel’s bank account indicated to the gang’s wide involvement in cyber frauds. The arrested accused were being further questioned in this connection, he added. The full network of the gang would be exposed once its kingpin Sanit Patel was arrested, Sapre added.
As many as 31 cyber fraud complaints have been registered against Manish Patel in multiple states, including Delhi, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Modus operandi
The accused would lure victims with attractive offers such as donations or business opportunities, persuade them to travel to Bhopal and then take them hostage to gain access to their bank accounts.
The bank accounts of victims were then used for transferring cash linked to cyber frauds. The cash was withdrawn swiftly and the victims were threatened and forced to leave. In several cases, the accused also extorted money directly by threatening and intimidating the victims.
Investigators said the gang maintained links with cyber fraudsters based in Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and other locations. Their primary role was to arrange bank accounts for routing cyber fraud money, acting as a crucial link in the larger inter-state network.
