LUCKNOW: Ayodhya Police busted one of the biggest cyber scams in the history of the temple town involving an online fraud of Rs 3.85 crore carried out in the name of Ram Lalla's prasad.
Exploiting the spiritual fervour among devotees following Ram Lalla’s consecration on January 22, 2024, the accused, posed as a professor at Northeastern University in Seattle and lured lakhs of devotees through a fake website offering Ram temple prasad delivered to their doorsteps.
The scam was orchestrated by Ashish Singh, originally from Windsor Park, Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, and currently residing in the United States. He launched a fake portal, khadiorganic.com, just weeks before the 2024 consecration ceremony, collecting orders from over 6.3 lakh domestic and international devotees between December 19, 2023, and January 12, 2024.
Ashish Singh was offering “free delivery” of prasad, temple replicas, and commemorative coins of the Ram temple. However, he charged a “facilitation fee” of Rs 51 from Indian users and USD 11 from overseas devotees.
Through his website, Singh collected payments via multiple digital gateways, including Yes Bank, Paytm, PhonePe, MobiKwik, and IDFC, amassing Rs 10.49 crore in transactions, with Rs 3.85 crore of which was for prasad delivery alone, while the rest came from sales of other items.
The scam came to light when Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust noticed suspicious online activity and flagged it to the Ayodhya Cyber Crime Unit.
A criminal case was promptly registered under IPC Section 420, IT Act Section 66D, and Section 12(3) of the Passport Act, 1967. Ashish, seemingly confident of managing the fallout, returned to India on January 13 this year and travelled to Ayodhya, perhaps with the motive of some kind of negotiations or for a cover-up.
But cybercrime cell sleuths arrested him upon his arrival and later presented him as the mastermind of the online fraud. The police recovered a laptop, two iPhones, Rs 13,970 in cash, USD 16, and a slew of identity and banking documents, including US and Indian ID cards, debit cards, a driving licence from Washington, and a health card.
As per the Ayodhya police sources, in a cyber recovery operation, Ayodhya Police successfully refunded Rs 2.15 crore to 3,72,520 victims. Recovery efforts for the remaining Rs 1.70 crore are still underway, said the sources.
Praising the cyber cell personnel for their swift and methodical response to the scam, Ayodhya SSP Gaurav Grover said it was a scam built on faith. “The accused exploited people’s religious sentiments. However, our team’s timely action ensured that faith wasn’t betrayed entirely,” he said while talking to the media. In recognition of their work, the cyber team was rewarded with Rs 15,000.
Meanwhile, the Ayodhya Police urged the citizens to exercise caution, especially while making online payments related to religious services, and to verify the authenticity of any such schemes before paying the money. “This case is a lesson in digital vigilance,” said SSP Grover, adding that faith should never come at the cost of caution.