Raurkela: Five people were arrested by the Odisha Police as it busted an inter-state cybercrime racket, officials said Wednesday.
Acting on a complaint lodged at Udit Nagar police station August 6, police first arrested Raurkela resident Jyotish Prasad Verma (29), alias Tilak Mahato, who was involved in the momo business.
Verma was allegedly transferring money received through fraudulent transactions after duping unsuspecting victims, police said.
Following his interrogation, police arrested four more members of the racket — Bikash Kumar Manjhi (29), Pradip Kumar (24), Suraj Kumar (24) and Manish Kumar Yadav (25), from Jharkhand’s Deoghar district, they said.
Raurkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani said the gang allegedly used malicious APK files disguised as applications for government schemes such as PM-Kisan Yojana to gain the victims’ trust and obtain access to their mobile phones and financial information.
The accused allegedly used the information to access UPI accounts, ATM withdrawal details and merchant QR codes before transferring money from the victims’ accounts, he said.
“Through prompt field action, sustained interrogation, technical investigation and coordinated follow-up, the police team identified and apprehended key members of the network,” Wadhwani said.
Police have so far detected transactions worth more than Rs 3.5 crore linked to the racket, he said, adding that the amount is likely to increase as the investigation progresses.
A total of 31 complaints and FIRs have been registered against the accused across the country, while Rs 47 lakh has been frozen in their bank accounts, the SP said.
Police also seized Rs 24,900 in cash, five mobile phones, five ATM cards and an SUV from their possession.
“Further investigation is on to ascertain the identity of the remaining members, their roles, the money trail, identify the ultimate beneficiaries and recover further proceeds of crime,” Wadhwani said.
PTI