New Delhi, July 22 (IANS) In a major crackdown, the Cyber Police Station of North District, Delhi, has busted an interstate gang of cyber cheats that duped victims through fake investment schemes on social media.

Seven individuals have been arrested from different parts of Uttar Pradesh in connection with the case.

The gang targeted victims via Instagram and Telegram, promising “100 per cent guaranteed” returns on investments. A Delhi woman from Farashkhana fell prey to the scam and transferred Rs 1.23 lakh across multiple bank accounts under the guise of account verification, GST charges, and corrections. Realising she had been duped, she filed a complaint, prompting an investigation.

A special team led by SI Tasveer Mathur and supervised by Insp. Rohit Gahlot and ACP Hemant Mishra tracked the money trail to mule accounts. The first arrest, Anshuman Nath (23), a B.Tech student from Ghaziabad, led to the unravelling of the racket. He had handed over his Kotak Bank account to Dhruv Aggarwal (21), a middleman from Kasganj, for a commission.

Further investigation and raids in Ghaziabad and Kasganj led to the arrest of the main handler, Yatharth Bansal (22), and his associates – Gaurav Verma (22), Adesh Kumar (24), Rahul alias Hardev (23), and Kuldeep (22) – all of whom operated as “cash mules” withdrawing money using multiple ATM cards and delivering it to Yatharth.

“The accused persons operated a structured cyber fraud network wherein mule accounts were opened or arranged by individuals like Anshuman Nath, who handed over these accounts to middlemen such as Dhruv Aggarwal. These accounts were used to receive scammed money from victims defrauded through online platforms like Telegram and Instagram,” said DCP Raja Banthia.

Recovered from the accused were Rs 1.39 lakh in cash, 11 mobile phones, 17 SIM cards, 9 ATM cards, and one SBI passbook.

The gang used encrypted apps, fake identities, and multiple SIMs to evade detection. Police confirmed that all arrested individuals have confessed to their roles.

Investigations are ongoing to trace more mule accounts and potential victims.

–IANS

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