6 arrested for sending threats to Noida schools, running illegal betting apps

According to police, the suspects were traced to Ghaziabad’s Indirapuramduring an investigation into an FIR registered at Cyber Crime Police Station on January 23, after schools in Gautam Budh Nagar received threat emails.

NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Friday arrested six members of an organised cybercrime syndicate that allegedly sent threat emails to schools in Noida and operated illegal online betting applications, officials said on Saturday.

Police said the suspects were traced to Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram (HT)

According to police, the suspects were traced to Ghaziabad’s Indirapuramduring an investigation into an FIR registered at Cyber Crime Police Station on January 23, after schools in Gautam Budh Nagar received threat emails. Multiple electronic devices, fake identity documents, Nepali passports and bank cards allegedly used in illegal operations were also seized, police said, adding that they were ascertaining the motive behind the threat emails.

The suspects were identified as Abish Jung Karki, Kedarnath and Lekhnath Sharma from Nepal, Anant Kumar from Agra in Uttar Pradesh, and Sahil Kumar and Divyansh from Gopalganj in Bihar — all residents of Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram.

According to police, the FIR was registered on January 23 under sections 351(4) (criminal intimidation), 353(1)(b) (statements conducting to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66 of the IT Act after schools in the district received threat emails.

STF officials said it was found that the threat emails originated from a Gmail account. Further technical analysis linked a recovery email ID associated with the account to locations in Bangladesh and India. Subsequent digital tracing led investigators to Indirapuram, officials said.

“The Noida unit of STF conducted technical analysis at the identified location, and found several individuals with a large number of electronic devices. They were brought to the STF Noida office for questioning and formally arrested,” additional SP (STF) Raj Kumar Mishra said.

According to police, the suspects allegedly confessed to running illegal online betting applications from a makeshift office. They would contact potential targets — mostly Indian and Nepali citizens — through emails and calls, and encourage them to invest money in betting platforms, police said, adding that the suspects used VPNs and multiple email IDs to avoid detection.

“The STF also seized four laptops, 22 mobile phones, two Nepali passports, two forged Aadhaar cards, four PAN cards, one chequebook, 16 debit and credit cards, one Nepali voter identity card, one driving licence and ₹19,500 in cash,” Mishra said.

Police said Abish obtained a diploma in business management from Australia between 2019 and 2020. He told investigators that he worked with a person named Devraj, and later joined a company called Gamemano in 2023.

According to the STF, Anant had earlier worked at a Noida-based betting app office and later brought Divyansh into the operation. Anant had previously worked with several call centre companies as technical support provider, police said.

Officials said Anant and Divyansh are both intermediate pass and around 25 years old. Lekhnath Sharma (around 33) and Kedarnath (around 32), both natives of Kathmandu in Nepal, allegedly joined the operation in 2023 after being introduced by Devraj. Kedarnath also holds a business management degree from Australia, while Lekhnath completed his MBA in Nepal, police said.

“Further investigation is underway to identify the full network and financial trail linked to the syndicate,” Mishra added.

Police said cases were being registered against the suspects under relevant sections at Surajpur police station in Gautam Budh Nagar.