Cyberfraud gang busted, three arrested in Patna raids

Patna: With the arrest of three accused, police claimed to have busted an organised cyberfraud gang that allegedly duped people across the country by posing as representatives of banks and financial institutions. The accused targeted people by offering services such as loan approvals, ATM PIN generation, credit card limit enhancement, and reward point redemption before defrauding them of money.The arrested accused have been identified as Gaurav Raj, Sapna Kumari of Nalanda district and 20-year-old Nikhil Kumar, resident of Kankarbagh in Patna.The breakthrough came during a joint operation conducted by the Cyber Crime Security Unit (CCSU) and the Cyber Police Station in Patna. Acting on technical inputs, police carried out raids in Navneet Nagar, Ranipur Mehndiganj, and Ashok Nagar ward no. 11 in Kankarbagh, leading to the arrest of two men and a woman. During the operation, officers recovered several mobile phones, Aadhaar cards, ATM cards, SIM cards, and a laptop from their possession.According to investigators, the accused contacted people while impersonating bank officials and tricked them into sharing sensitive financial information. They then used the details to carry out fraudulent transactions and cyberscams.Cyber DSP Nitish Chandra Dhariya said the investigation revealed that numerous complaints had been registered against the accused on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). “Technical analysis further uncovered links to more than 400 cyberfraud complaints reported from various states across the country, indicating the wide reach of the gang’s operations,” he told the reporters here on Wednesday.The DSP said the probe has also revealed the involvement of two additional suspects who are currently absconding. “Efforts are underway to trace and arrest them. Group functioned as a well-organised cybercrime network that systematically targeted victims across multiple states,” he said.Following their arrest, the three accused were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody. Police teams are continuing raids based on information gathered during their interrogation, while cyberexperts are examining the seized electronic devices and documents to determine the full extent of the fraud network and identify the total number of victims affected by the racket.