Chowk Bazar police have arrested 25-year-old history-sheeter Shaivin Pumbhadiya, who had a Rs 5,000 reward on his head in connection with multiple cyber fraud cases across India.
Pumbhadiya has six FIRs registered against him in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Dwarka and Cyber Outer (Delhi), Shravasti (Uttar Pradesh), and Yellandu (Telangana), involving fraud totaling Rs 3.80 crore.
The Bhopal police had announced the Rs 5,000 reward after repeated attempts to trace him in a Rs 61 lakh cyber fraud case proved unsuccessful.
According to authorities, Pumbhadiya was arrested following a tip-off that he was hiding in the Chowk Bazar area. Police kept him under surveillance for two days before apprehending him.
Apart from the six FIRs, Pumbhadiya is allegedly involved in four additional cyber fraud cases listed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP), including incidents in Visakhapatnam, Mathura, Rajkot City, and Pudukottai.
Earlier, the New Delhi Special Cell had arrested him last year in a cheating and criminal conspiracy case. He was reportedly involved in supplying bank accounts used to receive funds from cyber frauds.
After multiple cases were registered against him, Pumbhadiya went absconding and stopped using a mobile phone to evade authorities. Police later tracked him to Surat, where he had attended a social event, and arrested him there.
He is expected to be handed over to Bhopal police for further investigation.
