City police bust major cyber fraud racket, three arrested

In a breakthrough against cybercrime, the commissionerate police have busted a major cyber fraud racket and arrested three persons allegedly involved in large-scale illegal online activities.

Acting on specific intelligence, a team from Navi Baradari police station conducted a swift raid at Hotel M-1 in Jalandhar, where accused were reportedly operating their network.

During the operation, police recovered Rs 24 lakh in cash, 14 mobile phones, a laptop, 19 bank passbooks in different names and 43 ATM cards believed to be used for fraudulent transactions. The arrested persons have been identified as Varun Anchal, a resident of Shaheed Babu Labh Singh Nagar, Anil, a resident of Madhuban Colony, and Dudhagara Rimpal, a resident of Morbi Road, Rajkot, Gujarat. All three were taken into custody from the hotel and are believed to be key members of the cybercrime operation.

Commissioner of Police (CP) Dhanpreet Kaur said the arrests were the result of diligent surveillance and timely action by police teams. She said the recovery of such a large amount of cash, along with multiple electronic devices and financial documents, points to a well-organised network engaged in digital fraud.

“The seized ATM cards and passbooks were likely being used to route and withdraw money from various bank accounts created using fake or stolen identities,” she said.

She further said the accused were produced in a court and their three-day police remand obtained for further interrogation. “Investigators are now working to uncover the full extent of the fraud, which is suspected to have links beyond Punjab. The police are examining the digital evidence gathered from the seized laptop and mobile phones. Efforts are underway to trace the source from which the money originated and identify possible victims,” she said.

The CP reiterated the department’s commitment to crack down on cybercrime and bring all those involved to justice. She said the police were determined to follow every lead. No one connected to the racket would be spared, she added. Further arrests were likely as the investigation progresses, she said.

Jalandhar