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Mathura police out to jam cyber fraud network in ‘Mini Jamtara’
After pre-dawn crackdown, 37 suspects sent behind bars, 10 named as absconders; 300 cops engaged in simultaneous raids in Devseras, Daulatpur, Mudseras and Nagla Akatiya villages
AGRA Walking through the early fog before dawn on Thursday, the Mathura police entered four villages in the Goverdhan area – widely labelled as ‘Jamtara of Mathura’ – and sealed the entry/exit points as part of an operation to dismantle cyber fraud networks here. The villagers were taken by surprise as the police moved from one house to another, catching hold of the suspects. By Friday evening, 37 were sent behind bars and 10 named as absconders.
Multiple gangs have been operating from the region, targeting victims across India through online scams, phishing calls, job frauds and fake digital loan schemes. A large number of mobile phones, SIM cards, Aadhaar cards and documents suspected to be linked to digital fraud operations were seized from the suspects, said police.
As many as 300 cops were engaged in simultaneous raids in Devseras, Daulatpur, Mudseras, and Nagla Akatiya villages, long associated with cyber fraud and illegal call centre activities.
SSP (Mathura) Shlok Kumar has a reason for this scale of action. “Central agencies monitoring cyber frauds were coming across locations from where calls were being made in different cases. Police from adjoining states were raiding these villages to nab suspects. We too were getting inputs about suspicious people frequently visiting these villages to provide SIM cards and mobile phones. All this made us launch a well coordinated crackdown at 5am on Thursday,” he said.
Six of the suspects were found to have a history of cyber fraud. But the arrests did not come smoothly as locals resisted the police and 31 people were booked for organised crime and posing hurdle in police action, said SP (rural) SC Rawat, leading the operation.
Crime is a easier bargain in this region that is only kilometers away from the borders of Rajasthan and Haryana. These villages are not new for law enforcement agencies. What has changed is only the ‘format of crime’. This area was on police radar for being a centre of ‘tatlu-baazi’ – an act of crime in which also tele-calling was an integral part.
“The four villages are the epicenter of ‘tatlu-baazi’, wherein people in nearby states received a call from an inhabitant of this area and an offer was made. The caller used to reveal that he had by chance found a piece of gold in the field, but being a simpleton, he was not aware what to do and offered to sell the gold at a nominal price. Many driven by greed for cheap gold reached the village,” revealed a local journalist.
“Very often, the buyer was handed over fake gold while at other times, the purchaser was held hostage in the village and robbed. Things turned so bad that placards were placed in Mathura warning ‘beware of tactics of tatlu’. With growing awareness, such acts of crime came down, but left villagers in search of other avenues for livelihood,” he said.
SSP Shlok Kumar termed cyber crime in these villages as a ‘switch of business’ for locals.
“Switching to cyber fraud did not require literacy, but street smartness that was on the wrong side of law,” he opined
“A reward of ₹25,000 has been declared on each of the cyber fraud absconders and soon seizure notices for their properties will be issued,” added the SSP.
“We have not ended the operation...the vigil will continue,” said SP (rural).
But it is an uphill task as these cyber criminals have begun finding roots in other regions including Shergarh, Kosi Kalan and Barsana in Mathura.
