Muzaffarpur police bust inernational cybercrime syndicate; 4 held

Patna: Muzaffarpur police on Wednesday busted an international cybercrime syndicate, involved in stealing and selling sensitive personal data of Indian citizens to foreign criminals, and arrested four key accused from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in a high-tech operation. The racket, which allegedly posed a serious threat to national security and citizens’ privacy, was being run using advanced technological tools, fake digital interfaces and encrypted communication platforms.

According to police, the arrested accused include Rishabh Kumar, a resident of the Ahiyapur police station area in Muzaffarpur, Deepak Chaudhary alias Ashu Kumar of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, Sudhanshu Kumar of Jale in Darbhanga district, and Sahil Kumar of Hathauri in Muzaffarpur. Each of them was handling a different component of the organised cyber network.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP), Muzaffarpur, Kantesh Kumar Mishra said the action followed specific inputs received from a central agency on April 21. “The inputs suggested that Rishabh Kumar was operating an illegal data exchange centre from his house. Given the seriousness of the crime and the international linkages, a special team comprising officers of the cyber police station, district intelligence unit (DIU) and Bihar STF was constituted,” the SSP said.

Led by city SP Mohibullah Ansari and cyber DSP Himanshu Kumar, the team conducted raids at Rishabh’s residence and arrested him. Further arrests were made on the basis of disclosures during his interrogation.

The police said the syndicate illegally created application programming interfaces (APIs) to gain unauthorised access to govt and private databases. Using OSINT (open source intelligence) tools, fake SIM cards and specialised Telegram bots, the gang harvested highly sensitive information, including mobile numbers, IMEI details, Aadhaar and PAN data, vehicle registration records and bank account details.

“Once collected, the data was sold at high prices to foreign cybercriminals, particularly those operating from Bangladesh and other countries. Payments were routed through cryptocurrency transactions or fake bank accounts,” Mishra said, adding that around Rs 4 lakh parked in various bank accounts of the accused has been frozen.

Several cellhones and iPads were seized during the raids. Preliminary analysis revealed solid digital evidence of chats with foreign cyber gangs on the devices. The entire syndicate allegedly operated through encrypted Telegram channels to evade detection.

The SSP said, “Three more members of the gang have been identified and raids are underway to arrest them. All seized electronic devices are being sent for detailed digital forensic examination to gather further technical evidence and trace the money trail.”
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