Inter-state gang behind ₹42-lakh cyber fraud with Panchkula mayor: Police

Police have recovered a significant amount of evidence, including 37 ATM cards, 16 mobile phones, four fake SIM cards, three Paytm sound boxes, two laptops, two Jio Fibre devices, three bank kits, nine cheque books, two passbooks and ₹30,000 in cash

The gang behind the ₹42.52-lakh cyber fraud with Panchkula mayor Kulbhushan Goyal has been found involved in at least 17 other cyber crime cases across 12 states, amounting to ₹2.75 crore, police said on Friday.

DCP Manpreet Singh Sudan addressing the media regarding the arrests in Panchkula on Friday. (Sant Arora /HT)

Addressing the media, DCP (Crime and Traffic) Manpreet Singh Sudan said the gang targeted unsuspecting individuals across various states, including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Telangana.

So far, six members of the gang, Salauddin Ansari, Shyam Dalal, Devvrat, Rahul, Aalok and Prateek, have been arrested. Police claim to have successfully frozen ₹32 lakh of the ₹42.52 lakh defrauded in the mayor case and will be returned to him soon.

Investigators are also probing if there was any involvement of bank officials in the scam. The case was registered on June 27 under various sections of BNS.

Police have recovered a significant amount of evidence, including 37 ATM cards, 16 mobile phones, four fake SIM cards, three Paytm sound boxes, two laptops, two Jio Fibre devices, three bank kits, nine cheque books, two passbooks and ₹30,000 in cash.