J-K Police bust multi-state cyber fraud; 13 accused identified, Rs 2.27 crore recovered

Jammu, Nov 15 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered over Rs 2.27 crore after busting a multi-state cyber fraud and identifying 13 accused, an official said on Saturday.

The breakthrough was achieved following registration of a case by Khalid Hassan, a resident of Dalpatian Mohalla at the Nagrota police station here on November 10, a police spokesman said.

According to Hassan, he received a call on April 8 from his brother, Sajid Hassan, who sought an urgent amount of Rs 54 lakh. Acting on the request, the complainant obtained a Rs 54 lakh loan from the J-K bank. However, on November 10, he was informed by his brother that over Rs 2 crore, including the loan amount, which he had invested through the ICICI Securities application, had been fraudulently withdrawn by unknown persons, the spokesman said.

Following the complaint, he said the victim was advised to register an online fraud report through the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930.

The complaint, filed through the NCCRP portal, alleged cyber fraud amounting to RS 2,27,45,264 through fraudulent trading activities on the ICICI Securities platform.

During the inquiry, the bank statements of the victim and suspected fraudsters were obtained and analysed, after which it was found that the misappropriated amount had been transferred into multiple bank accounts operated by the suspects, the spokesman said.

He noted that prompt police action led to the freezing of several fraudulent accounts, and following court orders, the embezzled amount was remitted to the rightful account, resulting in a total recovery of Rs 2.27 crore.

Further analysis of Customer Application Forms (CAFs), KYC documents, and transaction trails established that the accused, acting in criminal conspiracy, cheated the complainant and other victims by inducing them to invest money under the false promise of high returns, the spokesman said.

He further informed that the investigation team has so far identified 13 suspects in the case, and multiple police teams have been formed to arrest the suspects across various states. PTI TA TAS MPL MPL