The cybercrime police have busted an interstate cybercrime syndicate and arrested three men from Jamtara district, Jharkhand, for duping victims of Rs 1.02 crore across 17 states.
The accused, Sarfaraz Ansari (24), Riyas Ansari (22), and Shehzad Ansari (20), are linked to 121 offences registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCCRP). The gang allegedly specialized in sending malicious APK files disguised as apps for paying traffic challans. When installed on victims’ phones, the APKs allowed the gang to hack the devices and siphon money from bank accounts.
The arrests follow a case in which a Surat senior citizen lost Rs 2.45 lakh. Earlier, two suspects were apprehended in Kolkata, which led investigators to Jamtara. Police stated that Sarfaraz, along with wanted accused Santosh Mandal and Sikandar Mandal, ran the gang from Jamtara, while the Mandal brothers managed a Kolkata-based team that withdrew funds from mule accounts provided by Aslam Ansari, arrested earlier.
The operation was led by Police Inspector A M Parmar, and the investigation into the gang’s activities continues.
