9 held in Sambalpur for online fraud

Sambalpur: The Sambalpur police have busted a major online fraud racket involving mule bank accounts and arrested nine accused, including a key operative from Jharkhand's Jamtara district.According to the police, on Sept 21, Ainthapali police apprehended one suspect, Anil Kumar Mandal (37), near Ainthapali bus stand during routine patrolling. A search of his carry bag led to the seizure of 35 bank passbooks, 22 ATM cards, five SIM cards, two fake Aadhaar cards, and two mobile phones. "During interrogation, Anil confessed to conspiring with a man from Dhanbad and several locals from Sambalpur to open mule accounts with forged documents for fraudulent transactions," Sambalpur SP Mukesh Bhamoo said.Police said around Rs 50 lakh was transacted through 15 mule accounts, with the accused earning commissions for providing their bank accounts. Following his confession, eight more accused were arrested from different parts of Sambalpur, including Rasiapali, Nuatihura and Jamankira.Bhamoo further said, "Police came to know that there are some suspected cybercriminals roaming in Sambalpur; hence, while searching, we found someone named Anil Mandal. He had more than 35 mule bank passbooks. He was working on a commission basis. The main circuit and entire syndicate is there in Jamtara. First they paid Rs 5,000 to the account holders to open mule accounts and later they were getting money as commission in every transaction. The transactions in these mule accounts are more than a crore. The verification process is still ongoing."