Jaipur, Dec 20
In a major breakthrough under "Operation Anti-Virus", the police in Rajasthan on Thursday uncovered a cyber fraud gang involved in scams worth over Rs 10 crore across 16 states.
The operation led to the arrest of two individuals, including a doctor and the director of a fake firm, from Rajasthan's Dholpur district.
A total of 51 cyber fraud cases have been registered against the gang on the cyber portal, with the amount defrauded exceeding Rs 10 crore, said officials.
Superintendent of Police Arshad Ali revealed that the investigation began on April 23 after a complainant, Sunil Kumar, reported fraud.
Kumar stated that he received a Telegram message from an unknown number displaying the photo of a college friend. Assuming it was his friend, he engaged in conversation and eventually transferred Rs 94,70,300 to various accounts over a month.
The fraudsters lured him with promises of earning Rs 2-3 lakh per day through trading and a luxurious lifestyle.
Based on Sunil Kumar's complaint, a case was registered at the Cyber Police Station, and Police Inspector Ranveer Singh Beniwal initiated the investigation.
Acknowledging the severity of the case, Arshad Ali formed a special team to expedite the arrests and ensure the complainant's funds were recovered.
The team traced the bank accounts linked to the fraud and arrested Sudhir Yadav (34), the account holder, and Anand Soni (39), a dentist. Both are residents of Dholpur district.
The accused are currently in police remand for further questioning.
The police team has already recovered Rs 10 lakh and refunded it to Sunil Kumar's bank account. Investigations continue to trace the remaining amount and identify other associates involved in the fraud.
The gang operated by registering a fake firm, Sudhir Enterprises. They created a firm seal and opened a current account in Sudhir Yadav’s name. This account was used to carry out cyber fraud activities.
During probe, it was found that the gang was involved in 51 cyber fraud cases across 16 states.
These include nine cases from Maharashtra, seven cases from Telangana, six cases from Andhra Pradesh, five cases from Karnataka, four cases from Tamil Nadu, three cases each in Rajasthan and Kerala, two cases each in Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Gujarat, and West Bengal and one case each in Haryana, Punjab, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh
The total fraud amount recorded is Rs 10,01,80,865.