Ahmedabad: The Surat City Cyber Crime Cell has arrested two alleged money mule operators from Jharkhand after tracing a Rs 10.65 lakh APK-based cyber fraud, with investigators uncovering suspicious transactions exceeding Rs 65 lakh across the bank accounts allegedly used to route cybercrime proceeds.
The arrests were made following a four-day operation in Giridih district, around 1,800 km from Surat, after technical analysis and financial investigation led police to the interstate network.
The operation was conducted with assistance from local police and personnel from two police stations.
The case stems from a complaint lodged after an unidentified fraudster allegedly gained unauthorised access to a complainant’s ICICI Bank account on November 2 last year, between 11 a.m. and noon.
Police said the victim had unknowingly installed a malicious APK file received through WhatsApp or SMS, allowing the fraudsters to access SMS messages, one-time passwords (OTPs) and banking information before transferring Rs 10,65,375.98 through multiple transactions.
A case was registered at Surat Cyber Crime Police Station under Sections 318(4), 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell) Bishakha Jain said the arrests followed the force’s ‘Operation Mule Hunt’, launched in December last year.
“In November 2025, the victim received an APK file through WhatsApp and SMS. After the APK was installed, the phone was hacked, and Rs 10.65 lakh was transferred from the victim’s account. During Operation Mule Hunt, we arrested Rajeshwar Swain and Jiaur Rehman. Based on their interrogation and technical analysis, we found that two money mule accused were located about 1,800 km away in Jharkhand,” Jain said.
“Our teams remained there for nearly four days, working in different roles and using human intelligence with the assistance of local police and personnel from two police stations. We arrested both accused. The fraud amount in this case was Rs 10.65 lakh, but examination of their bank accounts revealed transactions of around Rs 75 lakh,” she added.
The arrested accused have been identified as Ruplal Mandal, 29, and Mukesh Mandal, 31, both residents of Giridih district in Jharkhand.
According to police, Ruplal Mandal opened two bank accounts in his name and allegedly handed over the bank kits, ATM cards and account details to the absconding accused.
Investigators alleged that he withdrew cyber fraud proceeds through ATMs and cheques and delivered the cash to other members of the network in return for a three per cent commission amounting to Rs 1.52 lakh.
Police alleged that Mukesh Mandal acted as the link between the absconding accused and account holders after coming into contact with them through Facebook.
He allegedly arranged bank accounts for routing cyber fraud proceeds, retained four per cent of the total seven per cent commission and paid the remaining three per cent to the account holder.
The financial investigation found that one HDFC Bank account recorded transactions worth Rs 50.56 lakh between July 10, 2025, and February 13, 2026. Of this, Rs 18.58 lakh was withdrawn through ATMs in Giridih and Rs 4.30 lakh through cheques.
Police also found that Rs 30.10 lakh in cash had been deposited into the account in Surat by previously arrested accused Jiaur Rehman, while Rs 60,000 had been transferred to Mukesh Mandal’s account.
A second Axis Bank account recorded transactions of Rs 15.22 lakh between October 7, 2025, and February 23, 2026, of which Rs 9.49 lakh was withdrawn through ATMs in Giridih.
Police said the investigation has so far identified suspicious transactions exceeding Rs 65 lakh across the two mule accounts and efforts are continuing to arrest other absconding accused and trace the remaining financial trail.
Earlier in the investigation, police had arrested Rajeshwar Swain, a property broker from Surat originally from Odisha, and Jiaur Rehman, who runs a biryani shop in Surat and is originally from Uttar Pradesh.
Investigators said their interrogation led police to the Jharkhand-based suspects.
Surat City Police also urged the public not to install APK files received through unknown WhatsApp messages or SMS links, to download applications only from official app stores, never share banking credentials or OTPs, and avoid allowing others to use their bank accounts or banking instruments in exchange for commissions.
(IANS)
