A stolen mobile phone belonging to an 88-year-old man has helped Delhi Police uncover an alleged interstate cyber-fraud syndicate operating across Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, with nine people arrested so far, officials said on Monday.
The investigation began after the elderly resident of West Patel Nagar reported his mobile phone stolen on May 19. Two days later, after obtaining a replacement SIM card, he received alerts showing that ₹70,000 had been withdrawn from his bank account through three unauthorised transactions of ₹25,000, ₹25,000 and ₹20,000.
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The victim immediately reported the incident through the National Cyber Crime Helpline. An FIR was subsequently registered on July 23.
According to police, the investigation uncovered a three-stage network allegedly operating across Jaipur, Meerut and Ghaziabad.
“The accused allegedly stole mobile phones, used linked bank accounts to siphon money from victims and operated a call-centre-like setup in Jaipur to carry out banking transactions,” a senior police officer said.
Investigators found that the alleged syndicate operated through separate modules. The first group was involved in stealing mobile phones, while another group based in Meerut and Ghaziabad allegedly arranged mule bank accounts, debit cards, SIM cards and point-of-sale (POS) machines.
The third module, allegedly operating from Jaipur, used stolen phones and banking credentials to access victims’ accounts and route the money through mule accounts before withdrawing or transferring it.
Police said financial transaction analysis and digital surveillance helped establish links between the different modules.
A team subsequently raided a residential premises in Jaipur’s Jhotwara and arrested alleged main operator and technical mastermind Nikhil Soni, 26, along with Abishek Kumar Jha, Anand Sah Sonar, Prince Sah Sonar and Bishek Kumar Jha.
Police said the premises had been converted into a call-centre-like operation, with laptops, tablets, internet routers, passbooks and diaries containing alleged victim information and transaction details.
Around ₹4 lakh in cash was also recovered from the premises, officials said.
Meanwhile, another police team conducted simultaneous raids in Meerut and Ghaziabad and arrested four alleged suppliers of mule accounts — Amar Jatav, Harsh, Mohan and Vashu.
The operation resulted in the seizure of 52 mobile phones, 70 debit cards, 145 SIM cards, 13 bank passbooks, six POS machines, four laptops, two tablets and four high-speed internet routers, besides ₹4 lakh in cash.
Police said the seized phones allegedly contained victim-related information, banking applications and chats, while diaries recovered from the accused allegedly contained transaction records and contact details.
A forensic examination of the digital devices is currently underway.
Investigators have so far linked the alleged network to 19 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal across different states.
Police are now conducting further financial analysis to determine the total amount allegedly siphoned off by the syndicate and identify additional victims or members connected to the network.
The investigation is ongoing, officials said.
