2 arrested for providing mule accounts used in digi arrest

Kanpur: Panki Police arrested two accused, including a confectioner, for allegedly providing mule bank accounts to cyber fraudsters involved in digital arrest scams.

According to DCP West SM Kasim Abidi, around Rs 3.25 crore linked to digital arrest frauds committed across eight states was deposited into the confectioner’s bank account, while overall suspicious transactions of nearly Rs 10 crore were traced to the accused.

Police said the main accused opened a bank account through a fake organisation named “Bala Ji Foundation.” The second accused allegedly helped cyber fraudsters open mule accounts in connivance with employees of ICICI Bank in Noida. The concerned bank employees had already been arrested earlier by Gujarat Police.

DCP Abidi said a complaint regarding an ICICI Bank account had remained flagged on the NCRB system for a long time. During investigation through the Samanvay Portal, police found suspicious transactions worth Rs 3.25 crore in the account. Further probe revealed that eight complaints from different states had been registered against it.

Police said the cyber fraudsters used to digitally “arrest” victims by posing as CBI and CID officers and extorted money through fear and intimidation. The defrauded amounts were allegedly routed into the accounts operated by the arrested accused.

Based on the investigation, police arrested Jagdish Chandra Gupta, a resident of Panki Padav, Panki Bahadur Nagar. During interrogation, Jagdish allegedly disclosed that Rohit Bhasin, a resident of Gumti Number-5, Om Nagar, deposited donation money into his account. Rohit was later arrested based on Jagdish’s identification.

Police also registered a separate FIR against Jagdish Gupta for alleged electricity theft at Panki police station.

The DCP said complaints linked to the accused’s accounts had been registered in several locations across the country, including Kamareddy in Telangana, Gandhinagar in Gujarat, South Goa, Chilakaluripet Town and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Investigators further alleged that Rohit Bhasin got mule accounts opened in connivance with ICICI Bank employees, including branch manager Dheeraj Singh, assistant manager Mukul Verma and Dheeraj Tiwari of the Sector Alpha One branch in Noida. Police said the accused later got transaction limits enhanced with the help of bank officials.