A cybercriminal involved in an inter-state racket that defrauded an Amravati-based mill owner of Rs16.53 lakh was arrested by city police in Jamtara, Jharkhand, a region notorious for online fraud.
The victim received a WhatsApp message on November 9 warning that his water connection would be disconnected. Upon opening the message, his mobile phone was hacked via an APK link, and Rs16.53 lakh was siphoned off from his State Bank of India account.
Investigations revealed that the stolen funds were routed through multiple accounts and credit cards, indicating the involvement of several accused. Of the nine fraudulent transactions, two—Rs1.45 lakh and Rs1.20 lakh—were carried out using credit cards.
Police traced the credit card details to brokers who supplied them to Mrunal alias Vikram Pandey, the main accused, who executed the transactions on November 12. Technical analysis tracked him to Harirakha village in Jamtara district.
A police team led by API Aniket Kasar, along with Head Constable Vishal and Constables Roshan Aniket and Ashwin, arrested Pandey at Dumbariya Chowk, Jamtara. A search of his residence recovered 10 credit and debit cards, two passbooks, two cheque books, photocopies of Aadhaar cards, two mobile phones, and Rs14,500 in cash.
Police confirmed that the hunt for other accomplices is ongoing as part of the larger inter-state cyber fraud investigation.
