Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Crime Branch’s Cyber Crime Police achieved a major breakthrough in a high-value cyber fraud case involving the increasingly prevalent “Digital Arrest” scam, arresting two more accused and uncovering an interstate cyber fraud syndicate operating through fake identities and mule bank accounts.
The case was registered following a complaint by a Bhubaneswar resident who was allegedly duped of Rs 1.38 crore by fraudsters posing as Mumbai Cyber Crime officials. The scammers falsely claimed that the victim’s Aadhaar number was linked to a money laundering case and threatened him with arrest and imprisonment. Acting under fear and psychological pressure, the victim transferred Rs 1.38 crore to multiple bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.
During the investigation, Crime Branch officials conducted a detailed analysis of bank transactions, account-opening documents, mobile records and the money trail, which led them to a cyber fraud network operating from Delhi.
Investigators found that Rs 13.50 lakh of the defrauded amount had been transferred to an HDFC Bank account maintained in the name of “Rana Garments”. Acting on the lead, a special team led by DSP Anila Anand travelled to New Delhi and arrested Subham Sharma alias Sanjay Rana (29), a resident of Bhagwati Vihar in Uttam Nagar.
According to the Crime Branch, the accused had created a fake identity under the name “Sanjay Rana” using forged documents and, along with associates, opened multiple bank accounts in HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, AU Small Finance Bank and Yes Bank. He had also allegedly availed loans from various banks using the fabricated identity.
The investigation further revealed that the accused was operating bank accounts used for receiving cyber fraud proceeds and had purchased a Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS car using the illicit funds. The vehicle has been seized.
Police also seized forged Aadhaar and PAN cards in the name of Sanjay Rana, mobile phones, SIM cards, bank-related documents and vehicle records during the operation.
In a parallel operation, another Crime Branch team led by Inspector Satyanarayan Padhy arrested Amit Kumar (31), originally from Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh and currently residing in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Officials said Amit Kumar was the first-layer account holder into whose account approximately Rs 13 lakh from the fraud amount had been directly deposited.
A mobile phone, two SIM cards, Aadhaar card and PAN card were seized from his possession.
The Crime Branch said the investigation has established that the accused were part of an organised cyber fraud syndicate involved in creating fake identities, opening mule bank accounts, layering and routing funds through multiple accounts and withdrawing money through various channels to conceal the proceeds of crime.
The arrested accused have been produced before the competent court. Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network, trace additional fraud proceeds and establish interstate linkages of the cyber crime syndicate.
The latest arrests come after the Crime Branch had earlier arrested a mother-son duo from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with the same case. With the fresh arrests, the number of accused apprehended in the case has risen to four.
