After a detailed investigation spanning Bhopal, Bangalore, and Kashmir, the Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested two students, Faizan and Shaukat, involved in a cyber fraud case amounting to Rs 5.5 lakh.
The case began on May 6 when Tanveer Arif, a footwear shop owner from Sagar, reported to GRP Bhopal that his mobile phone was stolen from the AC-3 coach of the Rajdhani Express during his journey from Bhopal to Hazrat Nizamuddin.
Within a day, Arif discovered that the stolen phone was linked to his UPI accounts, and Rs 5.5 lakh was fraudulently withdrawn.
The GRP formed a specialized team to track the flow of funds and traced purchases made using gift cards, including an iPhone bought in Bangalore. Following leads from CCTV footage and cyber tracking tools, the team traced the suspects to Jammu & Kashmir.
Faizan was arrested from Baramulla and admitted to the theft, revealing that he and Shaukat, both nursing students in Bangalore, stole the mobile during their train journey to submit academic documents. Faizan was caught with Rs 1.02 lakh in cash. Shaukat was apprehended on July 13 in Bhopal. He confessed to transferring part of the stolen money to a betting app; Rs 2.18 lakh was seized from him.
Authorities also recovered Rs 3.2 lakh in cash, expensive electronic devices, and frozen funds related to the fraud.
