The Sambalpur police have successfully cracked a significant online fraud racket involving mule bank accounts, resulting in the arrest of nine individuals, including a key suspect from Jamtara, Jharkhand.
On September 21, during routine patrolling near the Ainthapali bus stand, police detained 37-year-old Anil Kumar Mandal. A search of his belongings uncovered 35 bank passbooks, 22 ATM cards, five SIM cards, two fake Aadhaar cards, and two mobile phones. Sambalpur SP Mukesh Bhamoo revealed that Anil confessed to working with an accomplice from Dhanbad and several locals from Sambalpur to open fraudulent mule accounts using forged documents.
Police investigations uncovered that approximately Rs 50 lakh was funneled through 15 mule accounts. The accused received commissions for providing their bank accounts for these illicit transactions. Following Anil’s confession, authorities arrested eight more suspects from various Sambalpur localities including Rasiapali, Nuatihura, and Jamankira.
SP Bhamoo added, “We identified suspicious cybercriminals operating in Sambalpur, which led us to Anil Mandal. He was working on commission, with the main syndicate operating from Jamtara. They initially paid Rs 5,000 to account holders to open mule accounts, then earned commissions from each transaction. The total transactions through these accounts exceed Rs 1 crore, and the verification process is ongoing.”
