A joint operation by the Cyber Crime Cell and Ghazipur (Indiranagar) police has led to the arrest of four men from Jharkhand’s Tinpahad region, alongside the detention of three juveniles, involved in an inter-state mobile theft and online financial fraud syndicate.
The accused—Shubham Kumar Mahato (26), Sonu Mahato (26), Rajkumar Rai (21), and Jonu Kumar (23)—hail from Jharkhand and Bihar. The juveniles, aged 14 and 13, were recruited to snatch mobile phones in crowded marketplaces, leveraging their minor status to avoid strict punishment.
The scam unraveled following a complaint by Deshraj of Mulayam Nagar, who reported his smartphone stolen on April 8, followed by an unauthorized Rs 2 lakh transaction from his linked Canara Bank account.
Police investigations revealed the gang operated across several states, stealing phones in busy markets such as Phool Mandi Chowk, BKT Mandi, Viraj Khand, and Nakhas. The gang disabled tracking features, bypassed locks, and exploited stolen SIM cards to siphon money from mobile banking and UPI apps. After fraud completion, stolen devices were sold in secondary markets.
ACP Crime Abhinav Kumar explained, “Minors from poor families were used to commit phone snatching, as children often escape harsh penalties, enabling the gang to operate with reduced risk.”
Police recovered 46 stolen mobile phones during the raids. The investigation is ongoing to identify further victims and dismantle the broader network.
