New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) The Cyber Police Station of Delhi’s Central District on Tuesday busted a technically sophisticated cyber fraud racket and arrested a 24-year-old MCA graduate from Uttar Pradesh for allegedly developing and operating a fraudulent portal designed to resemble government transport service websites.

According to Delhi Police, the accused, identified as Anshul Yadav, a resident of Bangali Colony in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah, allegedly created and managed the fake website “Parivahan.online”, which was used to cheat innocent citizens on the pretext of providing vehicle number plate booking and other transport-related services.

Police said the racket operated across multiple states and involved fake websites, backend admin access systems, domain management tools, payment gateway integration, and mule bank accounts used to route the cheated money.

The case came to light after a complaint was received at Police Station Cyber Central regarding cheating through fake website “Parivahan.online”, which was intentionally designed to closely resemble official government transport portals.

According to the complainant, he had searched online, through Google, to book a vehicle number plate and came across the fraudulent website, believing it to be genuine. After entering his vehicle details, he made an online payment of Rs 1,099. Later, the fraudsters allegedly demanded additional payments on various pretexts, raising suspicion in his mind. The complainant then immediately reported the matter on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).

Based on the complaint, FIR No. 64/2025 dated June 24, 2025, under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at Police Station Cyber Central, and an investigation was initiated.

Considering the seriousness and interstate ramifications of the offence, a dedicated police team comprising SI Ravinder Kumar, and HCs Deepak and Jai Kishan was constituted under the supervision of SHO Cyber Inspector Yograj Dalal and overall supervision of ACP, Operations, Padam Singh Rana.

During the investigation, the team carried out detailed technical analysis, scrutiny of financial transactions, domain verification, examination of IP logs, and digital surveillance. Police said the investigation revealed that the fraudulent website had been deliberately designed to appear similar to official government portals in order to gain the trust of citizens and induce them into making online payments under the guise of availing legitimate government services.

Further investigation into the registrant details of the fake domain, linked contact numbers, administrative access logs, and IP records established technical links to certain mobile numbers. Upon verification, these mobile numbers were found registered in the name of Anshul Yadav, thereby establishing his connection with the development and management of the fraudulent website.

Police said the financial investigation also revealed that the money received from victims through the fake website was systematically routed through multiple beneficiary bank accounts before ultimately being transferred to the bank account of the accused, establishing his direct financial involvement in the cyber fraud operation.

Investigators further found that several complaints from different parts of the country were linked to fake websites and beneficiary bank accounts allegedly operated by the accused and his associates, indicating the wider interstate reach of the cyber fraud network.

Acting on technical surveillance and local intelligence inputs, police teams conducted raids in Etawah and successfully apprehended the accused from Bangali Colony.

During sustained interrogation, Anshul Yadav allegedly disclosed that he had completed a Master of Computer Applications (MCA) degree and possessed advanced technical expertise in website designing, backend management, domain hosting, and online payment gateway integration.

Police said the accused confessed to creating several fake websites resembling official government portals and commercial service websites for cyber fraudsters operating across the country. He allegedly retained administrative access credentials, passwords, and backend control of these fraudulent websites and assisted cyber criminals in operating and maintaining the portals.

Investigators also revealed that the accused preserved and circulated ready-to-use fake website ZIP and source files, allowing fraudsters to quickly recreate and deploy similar fake portals whenever required.

The accused and his associates allegedly used multiple mule bank accounts to collect cheated money from victims.

Delhi Police described the modus operandi adopted by the accused as highly organised and technically sophisticated. Officials said the creation of fake websites resembling official government portals exploited the trust of innocent citizens and negatively affected public confidence in genuine online government services and digital governance initiatives.

During the operation, police recovered two laptops, two mobile phones, a fake website ZIP and source files, screenshots of saved passwords and login credentials, along with multiple domain and website-related details.

Police said further investigation is underway to identify and arrest co-accused persons, trace additional fake websites and linked bank accounts, analyse transaction trails, and identify more victims affected by the cyber fraud network.

–IANS

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