BTech graduate, former MNC’ employee held from Delhi for cyber fraud
Jain, who reportedly has a history of gambling and betting on cricket and in casinos, is the fifth person to be arrested in connection with this scam, which also has ties to the notorious Mahadev Betting Scam of Chhattisgarh
Ankit Jain, a BTech graduate and former employee of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has been arrested from Delhi for his alleged role in a widespread cyber fraud scheme that exploited the bank accounts of vulnerable individuals.
Jain, who reportedly has a history of gambling and betting on cricket and in casinos, is the fifth person to be arrested in connection with this scam, which also has ties to the notorious Mahadev Betting Scam of Chhattisgarh.
The accused, including Ankit’s associates Devender Kumar Yadav and Sankar Suvan Shukla, would lure lower-income individuals, such as rickshaw drivers, small vendors, and other members of the working class, into opening bank accounts with the promise of earning ₹10,000 a month. Once the accounts were opened, the accused would collect the associated bank account instruments, including ATM cards, SIM cards, and cheque books, and these would further be used for facilitating bigger cybercrimes.
Devender was responsible for opening the accounts, while Ankit kept the SIM cards and the duo used these to carry out cyber fraud activities.
Ankit allegedly obtained a franchise of the Mahadev Betting network in 2023, during which he received multiple bank accounts from Devender. These accounts were later sold to handlers based in Dubai.
Devender Kumar Yadav, a B.Sc graduate from Uttar Pradesh, and Sankar Suvan Shukla, also from UP were identified as the masterminds who lured innocent people into opening bank accounts. From Devender’s interrogation, details of around 700 accounts have surfaced, with approximately 100 accounts already frozen in various parts of the country due to their involvement in cybercrime.
The gang has also been found selling bank accounts and SIM cards for cyber frauds on Telegram app.
Birender Yadav, manager of a hotel, provided shelter to the suspects and failed to register their stay, which lasted over a month-and-a0half. Avinash, assistant manager, Indian Bank, Sector-17, Chandigarh, was implicated for opening bank accounts without proper due diligence under instructions from Devender and Shankar.
During the investigation, police seized multiple items from the accused, including 14 mobile phones, 37 ATM cards, two laptops, nine SIM cards, 14 cheque books, seven bank accounts linked to Chandigarh account holders and three stamps.