Delhi Police arrests 42 people under special operation against cybercrimes
New Delhi (PTI) Police have arrested 42 people in southwest Delhi under a special drive against cybercrime for their alleged involvement in multiple inter-state fraud modules that duped victims of more than Rs 254 crore, an official said on Saturday.
The arrests were made during raids under Operation CyHawk, and the police said 23 FIRs were registered and 377 NCRP complaints were found linked to the accused.
A total of three laptops, two computer systems, 43 mobile phones, 17 passbooks, two cheque books, 14 debit cards and Rs 1.6 lakh in cash were recovered during the raids.
The police said the crackdown targeted modules involved in ATM fraud, 'digital arrest' scams, job-fraud operations, digital-marketing fraud, USDT-based laundering, cheque-withdrawal syndicates and large mule-account networks operating across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Technical analysis of mule accounts flagged by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) revealed suspicious activity in four private bank accounts in Kishangarh. The accounts were linked to fraud cases registered in Kolkata and Mumbai, following which a case was registered.
During the investigation, Asgar Ali (23) and Ankit Singh (26) -- both alleged mule-account suppliers -- were arrested. Their interrogation led the police to the alleged mastermind, Ravi Kumar Singh (31), who was arrested after a seven-day chase across Noida, Delhi and Ghaziabad.
Ravi allegedly operated fraudulent call centres in Noida and Kotla Mubarakpur, and lured victims through fake job advertisements for private airlines. He also routed proceeds of cheating through mule accounts with the help of another accused, Ravi Mishra, police said.
Three additional suspects -- Rajan Singh Negi (32), Kamlesh Pal (35) and a 24-year-old woman -- were arrested from a functioning call centre in Kotla Mubarakpur. Ten keypad phones, five smartphones, two laptops, one computer system and a register containing details of fraudulent transactions were seized.
In a separate case, an FIR was registered after it was found that bank accounts in the name of Rajesh Kumar were used to withdraw fraud proceeds in at least six NCRP complaints. Raids conducted in Mandawali and Najafgarh led to the arrest of Rajesh (31) and three accomplices -- Sajan Kumar (27), Akash Kumar (25) and Gopal Yadav (25).
The police recovered 17 passbooks, eight debit cards, three mobile phones and Rs 1.6 lakh in cash.
In another case, a current account opened in the name of Dynamic Dreams was found linked to 244 cybercrime complaints involving losses of about Rs 186 crore. A case was registered and one of the account holders, Ranjit Singh (41), was arrested after raids in Nilothi.
In another case, five bank accounts in the name of Gayatri Kumari (23) were traced to 23 cybercrime complaints. Gayatri was arrested from Dabri Extension, and her interrogation led to the arrest of Aman Bhardwaj (32), who police say helped convert the cheated funds into USDT cryptocurrency.
Further investigation is underway.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
