Patna Cyber Crime Police have arrested five individuals in connection with a cyber fraud case in which a Puducherry-based businessman was cheated of Rs30.97 lakh. The accused are Rahulkumar Singh, Uttam Vishal Kumar, Rayushan Kumar, Abhishek Kumar, and Dayand.
The victim, businessman Sethuraman, reported that he was contacted via WhatsApp by individuals claiming to represent Vizag Steel Sales. They offered goods at discounted rates and convinced him to transfer Rs30,97,264 to their account. After receiving the payment, the fraudsters allegedly went out of contact.
A case was registered on July 3, 2024. The investigation, led by Inspector S. Diagaradjane, traced the fraudulent transaction to a UCO Bank account in Bihar. Using advanced cyber tools, the suspects were located in Patna.
A special team led by Inspector B.C. Kirtty apprehended the accused and seized Rs34 lakh in cash, mobile phones, debit cards, bank passbooks, cheque books, a Wi-Fi dongle, and notebooks containing customer data.
Preliminary findings indicate the accused were part of a larger syndicate running online scams posing as representatives of companies such as Vizag Steels, Zuari Cement, and Jindal Steels. The total estimated fraud is believed to run into several crores.
The arrested individuals were brought to Puducherry and remanded to judicial custody. DIG Sathyasundaram and SSP (I/C) Praveen Kumar Tripathi commended the Cyber Crime team for their successful operation.
