Jharkhand Police’s major crackdown on cyber criminals, busted international cyber crime module, 52 held

In a major crackdown against cyber criminals, the Jharkhand police have arrested as many as 52 persons who indulged in running an organised racket to loot people through different modes of cyber fraud from Giridih, Hazaribagh, and Jamtara in back-to-back raids conducted in the last 10 days.

The development occurred after the Jharkhand police launched a major manhunt and raided different suspected locations of Giridih, Hazaribagh, and Jamtara, a small town on the borders of Jharkhand notorious for organised cyber fraud. The raids conducted by the police also led to the busting of an international cybercrime module being operated by Pakistani handlers. During the raids, the police team during the raids had also seized huge amount of cash, as seizing cellphones, simcards, laptops, and passbooks from the possession of the accused.

International Cyber Crime Module Busted in Hazaribagh.

Launching a major crackdown against the cyber criminals, the Hazaribagh police on Sunday, December 10, busted an international cybercrime module being operated from Hazaribagh. Acting on the inputs received from the Pratibimb portal, a web portal launched by the Jharkhand police to track the cybercrime network and criminals operating across the country, the district police arrested Saif Riyaj aka Sibu a resident of West Champaran district of Bihar along with Arvind Kumar, Nitish Kumar, and Raman Kaushik, all residents of Hunterganj of Chatra district in Jharkhand.

Briefing the media about the development, Manoj Kumar Chote, SSP Hazaribagh, said that the accused were guided by a Pakistani number, and the amounts received in the accused accounts were also confirmed and then routed according to the instructions of the Pakistani handlers.

अंतरराष्ट्रीय साइबर क्राइम मॉड्यूल का खुलासा
एसपी हजारीबाग @ManojChothe के सूचना पर हजारीबाग पुलिस ने 4 साइबर अपरधियों को गिरफ्तार करते हुए 10 मोबाइल,36 सिमकार्ड,37 क्रेडिट/डेबिट कार्ड,12 चेक/पासबुक बरामद किए है.
इस साइबर अपराध को पाकिस्तानी मोबाईल नंबर से हैंडलर अंजाम दे रहा थे. pic.twitter.com/JY1Pm84wLq

— Hazaribagh Police (@HazaribagPolice) December 10, 2023

The accused were keeping a commission out of the amount received by cyber fraud and the rest of the amount was then deposited to separate bank accounts of different states. It seems like a well hatched conspiracy with international connection and interstate ramification. We are investigating the matter thoroughly and hope to bust the entire module after the probe, added SSP, Hazaribagh.

18 fraudsters held in Giridih

Meanwhile, acting on a tip-off, the Giridih police arrested as many as six cybercriminals in raids conducted in different police stations of the district on December 10. The police team also recovered 12 cell phones, 18 sim cards, 21 ATM cards along with seizing around Rs 8 lakhs in cash from the possession of the accused.

The arrested criminals were involved in fraudulent activities and have been portraying themselves as bank officials for looting people, informed Giridih police in a post on the social media platform X. Earlier, the district police had also apprehended as many as 12 cybercriminals from different police stations of the district.

गिरिडीह पुलिस के द्वारा साईबर अपराध के विरूद्ध लगातार चलाए जा रहे अभियान के सफल प्रयास से अलग-अलग थाना क्षेत्रों में छापेमारी कर फर्जी बैंक अधिकारी बनकर लोगों से ठगी करनें वाले 6 साईबर अपराधियों को गिरफ्तार किया गया।.. 1/2 @JharkhandPolice @amolhomkar_IPS pic.twitter.com/CnyhWOiGXA

— GIRIDIH POLICE (@GIRIDIHPOLICE) December 10, 2023

The police had also seized as many as 19 cellphones and 33 SIM cards, along with around Rs 2 lakhs in cash from the possession of the accused. The arrested accused were all involved in tricking people by promising them to provide them with the benefits of the maternal scheme being run by the government, informed the district Superintendent of Police (SP) in a press briefing.

30 cyber criminals held in Jamtara

Furthermore, the Jmatara police, in a separate raid conducted on Sunday itself nabbed as many as 12 cyber criminals from Karmatand police station of Jamtara. All the arrested accused have been sent to the jail, according to the district police in a post on X.

According to the reports, the district superintendent of police, Animesh Naithany, has some secret information about the presence of the cyber criminals near Karmatand, following which the team raided and nabbed the accused. The police team has also seized as many as 27 cell phones, 45 sim cards, 3 laptops and 3 motorcycles from the possession of the accused.

https://twitter.com/jamtarapolice/status/1733802390103437544?s=20

The arrested accused were tricking people on the name of debit and credit card update and as many as five of them are historysheeters, informed SP, Jamtara in a press briefing.

It is to be noted that as many as 12 cyber criminals were also apprehended by the district police in back-to-back raids conducted on December 3 and 5 while 6 persons involved in cyber fraud were also nabbed by the police in raids conducted on December 1 and November 30th.

It is worth mentioning here that Jamtara district and the nearby adjoining regions are notorious for crime pertaining to cyber fraud, which has also inspired a number of web series and movies featuring around the modus operandi of the organised rackets.