Jaunpur, June 14 (IANS) Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur have busted a major cyber fraud network, with the arrest of the alleged mastermind, Shubham Singh, police officials said. According to police officials on Saturday, the gang cheated people by offering fake Bajaj loan schemes, investment plans, and tour packages, defrauding victims of nearly Rs 2.5 crore.

The Cyber Crime Cell arrested the accused after a technical investigation and surveillance operation.

Police said the gang targeted thousands of people across the country, and more than 20 complaints have been registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).

Addressing the media, Jaunpur’s Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) Ayush Srivastava said: “We have arrested a cyber fraud and have also identified his accomplices who are his own family members. We have recovered around Rs 1.50 lakh from him, along with six mobile phones,15 ATM cards, nine bank passbooks and seven cheque books.”

Fake Aadhaar cards and SIM cards allegedly used for cyber fraud have also been recovered.

Describing the alleged mastermind’s modus operandi, SP Srivastava added: “He (accused) used to fool people in the name of loans and tour and travels. If somebody applied for a loan, he used to take money in the name of processing fee, application fee and registration fee and later block the individual.”

“Shubham’s brother, sister and brother-in-law are used to contact people in Mumbai who required loans. When an individual agreed to their offer, the main accused used to speak to them and charge the mentioned fees,” the SP said.

The police official added that the accused have been carrying out the criminal activity since 2021.

“We have been able to trace around Rs 2 crore in several bank accounts of the accused.”

He also said that Shubham and his brother have 10 bank accounts each and their company named ‘Bajaj Run Tour and Travels’ also has 10 accounts in its name. Apart from this Rs 2 crore transaction has been traced to their sister’s account.

Investigators revealed that the accused used forged identity documents and fake SIM cards to operate multiple bank accounts and carry out fraudulent transactions.

Police have also found links to cyber fraud cases registered in Maharashtra and several other states.

Further investigation into the network and its associates is underway.

–IANS

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