JHARSUGUDA: Jharsuguda police on Wednesday busted a racket operating through mule bank accounts and arrested 15 people for their alleged involvement in facilitating suspicious cyber transactions exceeding Rs 5.27 crore.
Six of the accused were arrested by Jharsuguda Town police with passbooks, ATM cards and mobile phones linked to transactions of around Rs 2 crore. Airport police also arrested an accused in connection with transactions exceeding Rs 3 crore. The rest of the accused were arrested by Jharsuguda Sadar, Badmal and Lakhanpur police. Notices were also issued to eight persons under section 35 (3) of BNSS.
Cases registered across multiple police stations revealed a pattern of syndicates recruiting individuals to open bank accounts and surrender passbooks, ATM cards and KYC documents. These were used as mule accounts to channel funds obtained through cyber fraud across the country, said police.
Further investigation is underway to identify wider links and protect residents from organised cyber fraud, said police. Jharsuguda SP GR Raghavendra urged citizens not to share bank accounts or KYC documents, report suspicious credits immediately, and contact the cybercrime helpline 1930 without delay.