With over 15 cheating cases registered in the UT in connection with payment of Adani Gas Bill, the cyber crime police have made their first arrest in the matter.
The accused Bimal Kumar Mandal alias Vidur was arrested on Friday from Jamtara district in Jharkhand for a case dating back to June 15, 2026.
The case was registered based on a complaint in which the victim was allegedly contacted through WhatsApp and falsely informed that his Adani Gas connection would be disconnected due to non-payment of the previous month’s bill. The victim was induced to download an APK application, which compromised his mobile device. Thereafter, unauthorised banking transactions were carried out, resulting in a financial loss of approximately ₹6 lakh.
Acting on the basis of technical and field investigation, a police team conducted a raid in Jamtara district in Jharkhand, and arrested 23-year-old Bimal Kumar Mandal. During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused obtained Adani Gas customer data and malicious APK files from a person via Telegram.
The accused allegedly contacted Adani Gas customers through WhatsApp messages and calls, falsely claiming that their Adani Gas bills were pending or required to be updated. He then instructed the customers to follow certain steps to update their gas connections and sent malicious APK files to gain access to their mobile devices.
After obtaining access to the victims’ devices, the accused allegedly carried out transactions through debit cards, credit cards, and UPI, resulting in financial losses to the victims.
{{/usCountry}}After obtaining access to the victims’ devices, the accused allegedly carried out transactions through debit cards, credit cards, and UPI, resulting in financial losses to the victims.
{{/usCountry}}The fraudulently obtained amounts were then allegedly transferred to other members of the cyber-fraud network through various bank accounts, wallets, and other modes.
A total of 10 mobile phones were recovered from the accused. The devices allegedly contained Adani Gas customer data and APK files and were used for making calls and sending WhatsApp messages to victims.
Further investigation has raised suspicion regarding the involvement of an insider employee of Adani Gas, who allegedly provided Adani Gas customer data to the accused for targeting victims.
The accused was sent to judicial custody after five days of police remand. Further investigation is in progress to identify and arrest the other accused persons involved in the cyber-fraud network.