Court rejects bail pleas of 2 accused in Rs54Cr cyber fraud case

Kanpur: An additional sessions court in Kanpur on Wednesday rejected the bail applications of two accused arrested in connection with a major cyber fraud and digital arrest racket allegedly involving forged GST firms and bank accounts used to launder illicit funds.

Additional Sessions Judge Sapana Tripathi, presiding over Court No. 1, dismissed the bail pleas of Ashish Kumar Garg and Sahil Vishwakarma, who were arrested by Barra police under provisions of the Information Technology Act and various sections of BNS.

According to the prosecution, the accused were part of an organised gang engaged in cyber fraud, digital arrest scams and the creation of fake GST firms to cheat people across different states and generate illegal profits.

Opposing the bail applications, Assistant District Government Counsel Pradeep Kumar Sahu submitted that the investigation had revealed the involvement of certain bank officials in the fraud network. He argued that cybercrime was adversely affecting society and the financial system.

The prosecution alleged that Ashish Kumar Sharma, an employee of a small finance bank, facilitated the opening of bank accounts in the names of unsuspecting individuals. These accounts were then allegedly used for trading activities and routing money obtained through cyber fraud. Statements of witnesses Om Awasthi, Pawan Yadav, Parashuram and Naresh reportedly corroborated the allegations.

Investigators informed the court that transactions worth nearly Rs54 crore had been routed through the accounts linked to the accused. While rejecting the bail pleas, the court observed that the allegations were serious in nature and granting bail at this stage could send a wrong message to society. Without commenting on the merits of the case, the court held that there were insufficient grounds for granting bail.

In their applications, both accused claimed innocence and alleged that they had been falsely implicated.

The case came to light after Barra police, acting on a tip-off, arrested several suspects, including Sonu Sharma, Satish Pandey and Sahil Vishwakarma. Investigators alleged that the accused, with the help of bank employees, opened current and trust accounts that were subsequently used for transactions involving proceeds of cyber fraud.