Cyber Security Bureau nabs 27 from Rajasthan in 1st interstate operation

Hyderabad: In a major crackdown on cyber criminals, the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau conducted a special operation in Rajasthan and apprehended 27 cyber fraudsters who lured people for Rs 11 crore. It was the first-ever inter-State special operation by the bureau.

The CSB conducted operations in three locations in Rajasthan and arrested fraudsters involved in over 189 cybercrime cases in Telangana and a staggering 2,223 cases across India.

According to TGCSB, four special operations wings camped in Rajasthan and carried out the operation during the last fortnight of September as part of our ‘zero tolerance’ policy against cybercrimes. The wings were part of a strategic approach to conduct centralised and large-scale inter-State operations to curb cybercrimes, said TGCSB director Shikha Goel. The teams, deployed at various locations in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Nagaur, conducted operations in surrounding areas. The real-time technical support team from CSB HQ coordinated 24x7 with the field-level teams deployed in Rajasthan.

During the operations, the teams arrested 27 cyber fraudsters who were involved in opening and operating 29 mule accounts that had suspicious transactions of Rs 11,01,18,882, as per initial estimates. The accused, in the total amount of Rs 9 crore, willingly allowed their accounts to be used for conducting cybercrimes. Their crimes included business and investment, trading, and digital arrest cases.

The arrested persons were: Kalu Ram, Lokesh Sharma, Pradeep Gehlot, Rajesh Barman, Kalyan Barman, Manish Jakhar, Kailash Chand Dara, Sachin Bhadana, Tushar Jangid, Mohith Sharma, Lakkan Arora, Shubham Jatawat, Ashish Jangid, Deepak Jangid, Lucky Kamawat, Murali Dhar Gour, Rakesh Dudi, Vinod Chavariya, Rakesh Jat, Om Harisharnam, Sanjay Morya, Rajesh Pancharia, Ramvilas Sargra, Vishnu Prasad Sargara, Sravan Kumar Mali, Rashid and Maqsood.

A total of 31 mobile phones, 37 SIM cards, 13 ATM cards, seven cheque books, two cancelled cheques, two hard discs, and certain other documents were seized from their possession. The arrested accused were brought on transit warrants from Rajasthan and lodged in various jails in Telangana.

Shikha Goel said 33 more cyber criminals were identified during the operation. We are working to arrest them in the near future. The complicity of bank officials in opening and operating the mule accounts is also being examined. Action will be taken against them as per law.