Sambalpur: In a major crackdown on cybercrime, Sambalpur police arrested nine persons, including the prime suspect from Jharkhand’s Jamtara, for allegedly opening mule accounts to facilitate fraudulent transactions worth around Rs 50 lakh.
The prime accused in the online fraud was identified as Anil Kumar Mandal (37) of Murlidhi village in Jamtara district of Jharkhand. The other accused are Bhisma Padhan (25), Pramod Tandia (36), Uttam Jagdala (36), Achyuta Bira (23), Debendra Majhi (25), Goutam Jagdala (29), Rinku Bag (30) and Srikanta Tandia (25), all from Sambalpur district in Odisha.
Sambalpur SP Mukesh Bhamoo said police apprehended Anil near Ainthapali bus stand on September 21 on basis of credible information. Upon search, police seized 35 bank passbooks, 22 ATM cards, two cheque books, SIM cards, mobile phones, two fake Aadhaar cards besides Rs 930 cash from him. The fake Aadhaar cards had the same photo of Anil with different numbers, indicating the use of forged identities for fraudulent activities.
During interrogation, Anil revealed the names of 16 account holders allegedly involved in the racket. The SP said so far, it has been found that an amount of around `50 lakh was credited into 15 mule accounts.
In connivance with a man from Dhanbad in Jharkhand, he entered into a criminal conspiracy to open mule accounts using forged documents for fraudulent transactions. He targeted account holders of Sambalpur district promising them commission on every transaction.
While the entire racket operated from Jamtara, Anil was acting as an agent in Sambalpur and luring locals. The local operatives, hailing from different villages under Sasan and Jamankira police limits, were providing their bank accounts and identity documents for commission, helping the racket channel money from cyber frauds.
Police registered a case under sections 61 (2), 338, 336 (3), 340 (2), 319 (2), and 318 (4) of BNS. A hunt has been launched to nab the other accused involved in the racket.
