Maha cyberfraud trail leads to Hailakandi

Silchar: In a major breakthrough exposing a widening inter-state digital theft web, the Hailakandi police have smashed an organised cyber fraud network, arresting five persons allegedly involved in siphoning off ₹3.86 lakh from the bank account of a Maharashtra resident. Law enforcement officials have also managed to recover a substantial portion of the defrauded money during a swift operation, officials said on Monday.According to senior police officials, the pan-India digital racket unraveled after Sunil Chandralal Batija, a resident of Maharashtra, lodged a formal complaint detailing the fraudulent withdrawal of money from his bank account through cyber mechanisms.Taking swift action on the case, a specialized team from the Hailakandi Sadar police station launched an intensive investigation under the direct supervision of officer-in-charge Lalhimsang Paul. Utilizing digital forensics and transaction tracking, investigators successfully mapped the intricate money trail to multiple local bank accounts across the Hailakandi district within a matter of hours, exposing a well-entrenched network operating across state borders.A deeper probe into the transaction logs revealed that the stolen capital was initially routed and deposited into the bank account of Bappan Uddin Mazumder, a resident of Purvagul locality in Hailakandi. Mazumder's immediate apprehension and subsequent interrogation yielded critical leads, pointing investigators toward several key conduits embedded within the racket.Police disclosed that three other accused, identified as Masud Zaman Barbhuiya of Purba Sonapur, alongside Muzakkir Hussain and Azad Hussain Mazumder from the Rangpur area, acted as intermediaries who facilitated the rapid movement and secure parking of the illicit funds. In return for setting up these financial buffers, the individuals allegedly charged fat commissions. Investigators specified that Mazumder was handed a direct payout of ₹20,000 simply for letting the syndicate utilize his active bank account to receive the fraudulent transaction.Sustained custodial inquiry further brought to light the pivotal role played by another co-conspirator, Sahed Akhtar Barbhuiya, hailing from the Paikan area. Detectives strongly suspect Barbhuiya of functioning as a primary coordinator, managing the logistics and scheduling of the multi-layered financial transfers across various bank branches to evade detection by regulatory agencies.During a series of coordinated raids, the police team recovered nearly ₹3.5 lakh in hard cash, which had been withdrawn from the mule accounts. The five arrested individuals—Bappan Uddin Mazumder, Sahed Akhtar Barbhuiya, Masud Zaman Barbhuiya, Muzakkir Hussain, and Azad Hussain Mazumder—are scheduled to undergo mandatory medical examinations before being produced before the Hailakandi district court.Meanwhile, top brass indicated that investigations are being widened significantly to ascertain if this localized cell has direct linkages to larger, deeply entrenched cybercrime cartels operating out of other digital fraud hubs across the country.