Dhanbad Police Nab Two in Rs 3 Crore Cyber Fraud Cases

Dhanbad: The Dhanbad police have arrested two men accused in separate cyber fraud cases involving a total amount of nearly Rs 3 crore from Karnataka and Saraidhela area here, respectively.

Addressing a press conference at the cyber police station in Dhanbad on Sunday, city superintendent of police Rithvik Srivastava said that the first case pertained to a cyber fraud of around Rs 50 lakh reported in Jan.


Abhay Kumar Agarwal, a resident of Bhuiphod Mandir area in Dhanbad, lodged a complaint alleging that an unidentified fraudster posing as the director of a company sent chats on an instant messaging platform and convinced him to transfer Rs 50 lakh.

Police said the amount was transferred to the account of a cooperative society at a private bank. After the complaint was lodged, SSP Prabhat Kumar constituted a special investigation team (SIT) under the supervision of cyber DSP Sanjeev Kumar.

The team travelled to Karnataka and arrested Mohammad Afser, 41, a resident of Hosanagara in Shivamogga district. He is one of the joint account holders of the cooperative society’s bank account where the proceeds of the fraud was transferred. Police said two other partners linked to the account are still on the run, and efforts are underway to trace them.

In another case, police arrested Manish Singh, 50, from Saraidhela police station area. He is accused of opening current accounts in the names of fake companies in a nationalised bank and facilitating illegal transactions worth nearly Rs 2.5 crore within just one week.

Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended him and produced him before a court, which sent him to judicial custody. Police officers termed both arrests significant in the fight against cybercrime and said further investigation is underway to identify other members of the fraud network.