In a significant crackdown on cyber fraud, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Cyber Police have arrested six individuals from Jharkhand, Gujarat, and Odisha for supplying bank accounts to scammers. Investigations revealed that the arrested suspects provided thousands of bank accounts to a fraudster based in Cambodia.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Shubham Mohan Londhe (24, Chikhali), Sam (alias David alias Sambidha Kumar Shripati Nayak) (22, Odisha), Professor (alias Himanshu Kumar Ganesh Thakur) (24, Jharkhand), Rajansh Santosh Singh (21, Bhugaon, originally from Jharkhand), Gaurav Anilkumar Sharma (40, Gujarat), and Ankush Ramrao More (31, Nashik).
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Doifode, during the investigation of a case registered at the Cyber Police Station, it was discovered that Shubham Londhe was supplying bank accounts to fraudsters. Londhe confessed to passing on these accounts to Sam. Further investigation revealed that Sam was managing a widespread operation, reaching out to bank account holders across India via Telegram. These accounts were forwarded to a Cambodian suspect, marking the operation as part of a larger international fraud network. Sam had been running this illicit operation for two years and was arrested in Hinjewadi on January 23.
Following Sam’s arrest, police conducted raids in various locations, including hotels in Bhugaon, Ghotawade, Bhukum, Bavdhan, and Hinjewadi, where five bank account holders were detained for questioning. These individuals were under surveillance by ‘gatekeepers’, accomplices who ensured the fraudsters were not caught by authorities. During the raids, police also seized bank kits, including chequebooks and account-related documents, which were sent via courier to an apartment in Bavdhan. Rajansh Santosh Singh was arrested from this apartment, where he had been gathering and forwarding the bank kits to the main suspect in Cambodia.
As the investigation progressed, two additional suspects, Gaurav Anilkumar Sharma from Valsad, Gujarat, and Ankush Ramrao More from Nashik, were arrested for their involvement in the fraud network. Police seized nine mobile phones, one tablet, and ten chequebooks from the six accused.
Authorities continue to expand their probe, with the aim of uncovering more links in this international cyber fraud network.
