VARANASI, Feb. 6 -- Azamgarh police have busted an inter-state cyber fraud gang and arrested two of its members who siphoned off over one crore rupees, said officials investigating the case. The network has come under the police net when an Azamgarh man was duped of over Rs 8.99 lakh. The victims were lured into investing through a fake app called 'NEXT TRADE' with the promise of high profits. The accused were identified as Indrajit Dey, a resident of Nanakheda, Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) and Ankesh Dhakad, a resident of Indore (Madhya Pradesh). Dhakad, a police officer added, was employed at Kotak Mahindra Bank, Indore. Police recovered three mobile phones with SIM cards, three ATM cards, two checkbooks and one bank ID. Police said Ashok Kumar Agarwal, a resident of Badarka under Kotwali Azamgarh Police Station limits, filed a complaint. He stated that he contacted a given mobile number after seeing an advertisement for NEXT TRADE on Facebook. The applicant, trusting the scheme, deposited a total of Rs 8.99 lakh. Initially, profits were shown on the app, but when the applicant tried to withdraw the money, the withdrawal was not possible. Subsequently, his ID was blocked, confirming he had been a victim of cyber fraud. Immediately after that, a case was registered against unidentified accused under sections 318 (4), 319 (2), and 66D of the BNS/IT Act, said Vivek Tripathi, additional superintendent of police (traffic) and nodal officer (cyber crime). During the investigation, based on bank accounts, registered mobile numbers, location tracking, and technical analysis, the Cyber Crime Azamgarh Police team, led by inspector Devendra Pratap Singh, arrested the two notorious inter-state accused on February 3, 2026. Based on the recoveries and interrogation, Section 111(1) of the BNS has been added to the case, Tripathi added. During interrogation, the arrested accused confessed that they were part of an organised gang that lured people into investing money by making them download the NEXT TRADE app under the guise of trading. The received funds were transferred to "mule bank accounts." The involvement of some bank employees has also come to light, who allegedly misused their positions to provide pre-signed blank checks for the gang. As soon as the money arrived in the accounts, it was immediately withdrawn through these checks. Complete records of the account transactions were maintained. The investigation so far has revealed that this gang has committed cyber fraud amounting to approximately Rs.1 crore. Four other accused are wanted in the case, said Tripathi. They include Gopal Bhadauria, an employee of one bank, and Pritam, an employee of another bank, along with Madhav and Rocky....