Mule account racket busted, woman-son among 12 held

Bengaluru, Jan 15 (PTI) An organised mule account racket was busted with the arrest of 12 persons including a woman and her college dropout son who allegedly opened bank accounts illegally in the names of unsuspecting members of the public and used them for fraud and online betting activities, police said.

A senior police officer told PTI that Mohammed Uzaif (22) along with his mother Shabana Abdul Bari opened about 4,200 mule bank accounts.

The accused opened bank accounts and procured SIM cards in the same names and passed them on for illegal gain, they said.

"Uzaif and mother were opening bank accounts in the names of the public, purchasing SIM cards in their names and supplying the bank accounts and SIM cards to another person based in Dubai for illegal profit and to facilitate illegally run gambling applications," the officer said.

He added that the gang comprised of people from New Delhi and neighbouring regions.

According to the police, the operation began after credible information was received on November 28, 2025, following which a case was registered at Hulimavu Police Station.

Acting on leads, the police secured Uzaif and his mother near an apartment at Anjanapura in JP Nagar Ninth Phase on November 29, 2025.

"On interrogation, both of them admitted their involvement in the case," police said.

The two were produced before a court on November 30 and taken into police custody for 10 days.

During questioning, Uzaif and Shabana revealed that they lured financially needy persons by offering commission to open bank accounts and cheated them, adding that 10 more associates were involved.

Based on their information, police conducted searches on December 3 and seized 206 debit cards, 23 mobile phones, 531 grams of gold jewellery, Rs 4.89 lakh in cash, nine watches, 36 SIM cards, 23 cheque books, 21 passbooks, a laptop, an online digital payment ring and a cryptocurrency-related book.

Further investigation led to the arrest of 10 associates from a premises in Rajendra Nagar, Delhi, on December 17.

Police seized additional debit cards, mobile phones and laptops from them and brought them to Bengaluru after court permission.

Overall, the police said they have seized 242 debit cards, 58 mobile phones, 531 grams of gold jewellery, Rs 4.89 lakh in cash, nine watches, 33 cheque books, 21 passbooks, seven laptops, an online digital payment ring, a cryptocurrency book and 48 SIM cards, with the total value pegged at Rs 1 crore.

"The prime accused in the case is absconding and efforts are on to trace him. Further investigation is in progress," police added. PTI GMS ADB