Kolkata, Aug 31 (IANS) The Bankura District Police in West Bengal on Monday said they had cracked a major cyber fraud racket operating from the jungle‑infested Ranibandh area of the district.
District Police Superintendent V.G. Satish told media persons that police had arrested seven individuals in connection with the racket.
Initial investigation suggests the total amount involved in the crime is to the tune of Rs 72 crore. “Our officers are currently interrogating to get information about the kingpins behind the racket,” Satish said.
Ranibandh was recently identified as a potential cybercrime hotspot in the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, following which Bankura Police intensified surveillance using modern techniques.
Satish explained that officers relied on four factors, data analytics, account tracing, transaction trail analysis and criminal linkage, to prepare a list of suspects. They tracked the money trail from accounts where victims’ money was deposited, examined subsequent transfers, and analysed the time gap between deposits and withdrawals. They also prepared a list of ATMs frequently used for withdrawals.
“All these proved important clues,” he said.
The seven arrested are Pintu Mandi, Arshal Soren, Debabrata Pal, Sovan Soren, Dibyendu Malik, Avinash Mandi and Deepak Sardar. Pal is a resident of Balasore in neighbouring Odisha.
Police seized 34 bank passbooks, 13 ATM cards and nine cheque books, along with Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and EPIC cards.
Investigators said the arrested appear to be small operators in a larger pan‑India racket. “We are currently interrogating them to get information about their masterminds,” Satish added.
Recently, at a Kolkata Police programme, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari observed that cybercrime complaints were rising, with many victims losing their savings. In July, Kolkata Police launched a month‑long awareness campaign across the city to educate citizens about cyber frauds, covering 120 locations across 60 police stations.
–IANS
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