Police in Dhanbad have arrested two individuals in separate cyber fraud cases involving a total amount of nearly Rs3 crore, officials said on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference at the Cyber Police Station, City Superintendent of Police Rithvik Srivastava said the first case relates to a Rs50 lakh cyber fraud reported in January.
Rs50 Lakh Fraud Linked to Karnataka
The complaint was filed by Abhay Kumar Agarwal, a resident of the Bhuiphod Mandir Area. He alleged that an unidentified fraudster, posing as the director of a company, contacted him through an instant messaging platform and persuaded him to transfer Rs50 lakh.
Police said the amount was transferred to a cooperative society’s bank account in a private bank.
Following the complaint, Prabhat Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police of Dhanbad, formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Cyber DSP Sanjeev Kumar.
The investigation led the team to Karnataka, where they arrested Mohammad Afser (41), a resident of Hosanagara.
Police said Afser was one of the joint account holders of the cooperative society’s bank account where the defrauded money had been transferred. Two other partners associated with the account are currently absconding, and efforts are ongoing to locate them.
In a separate operation, police arrested Manish Singh (50) from the Saraidhela police station area.
He is accused of opening current bank accounts in the names of fake companies at a nationalised bank and enabling illegal financial transactions.
According to investigators, nearly Rs2.5 crore was routed through these accounts within just one week.
Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended Singh and produced him before a court, which subsequently remanded him to judicial custody.
Investigation Continues
Police officials described both arrests as a major breakthrough in tackling cybercrime networks. Authorities are now working to identify additional individuals connected to the fraud operations and uncover the broader network behind the scams.
