Two members of a cybercrime gang that targeted unsuspecting citizens by threatening the disconnection of their LPG connections have been arrested from a village in Jharkhand’s Giridih district, police said on Saturday.
The accused were nabbed from Vishanpur village under Bengabad police station limits following a tip-off. Police recovered three mobile phones, SIM cards, and motorcycles from their possession.
Rameshwar Bhagat, officer-in-charge of the Giridih Cyber Police Station, said the gang used fake messages and phishing links to intimidate people into making payments by falsely claiming their LPG connections would be disconnected.
“After verifying the information, a police team conducted a raid in the area. Two cyber fraudsters were arrested, while another accused managed to escape,” Bhagat said.
The arrested men have been identified as Anand Kumar Mandal and Deepak Kumar Mandal. During interrogation, they admitted to sending fraudulent links in the name of Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL) and extorting money by threatening gas supply suspension.
A case has been registered at the Giridih Cyber Police Station, and efforts are underway to track the financial trail of the fraud.
The absconding accused has been identified as Prince Kumar Mandal. Police said continuous raids are being conducted to arrest him and identify other members of the cybercrime network.
Authorities have advised citizens to remain cautious and avoid clicking on suspicious links, reiterating that gas companies do not threaten disconnections through random messages or demand payments via links.
