Patna, Sep 17 (IANS) Police in Bihar’s Purnea district on Wednesday busted an inter-state cyber fraud gang involved in stealing mobile phones, siphoning money from victims’ UPI accounts, and then reselling the devices in the market.

The breakthrough came when a police team from Sahayak Khajanchi police station noticed seven young men sitting nervously at the local bus stand. Their suspicious behaviour led to a search, which uncovered 84 stolen mobile phones, four Aadhaar cards, and eight SIM cards.

SP Sweety Sehrawat, addressing the media, revealed that members of the gang had stolen 23 phones from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally on September 15.

“These individuals targeted crowded markets and political rallies. After stealing phones, they would unlock them with the help of technical experts, access OTPs, transfer money from UPI accounts to fake accounts, and finally sell the phones,” SP Sehrawat said.

An FIR has been registered at the Sahayak Khajanchi police station against all seven accused.

The gang operated across Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Two members were technical experts, responsible for breaking phone locks. Of the seven arrested, six are from West Bengal and one is from Jharkhand.

They had been staying in various hotels in Belauri for the past three to four months.

The accused have been identified as Munna Kumar, Rajesh Kumar Mahto, Pappu Mahto alias Pappu Nonia, Kapoor Mahto, Ganesh Kumar Mahto, Kartik Nonia and one minor teenager.

Among them, Ganesh Kumar Mahto is a native of Sahebganj district in Jharkhand, while the other six accused are from West Bengal.

The arrested men have been sent to jail, and efforts are underway to trace the rightful owners of the recovered mobile phones. Police are also investigating the financial fraud trail linked to fake accounts used for UPI thefts.

SP Sehrawat assured that further action will be taken to dismantle the broader network connected to this cyber fraud racket.

–IANS

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