LUCKNOW, Dec. 1 -- Basti police on Sunday arrested six members of what officials described as an organised inter-state cyber fraud syndicate that quietly operated through dozens of mule bank accounts spread across Uttar Pradesh and beyond. "The arrests were made during an early-morning raid by teams from Kotwali, Lalganj, and Sonha police stations, assisted by the district cyber cell," DIG, Basti Range, Sanjeev Tyagi told reporters. "Police first picked up Sujit Chaudhary, Nipendra Chaudhary, and Ramnath Chauhan from the Mathauli Chhath Ghat area around 8.10 am. Less than an hour later, another team intercepted Ashwini Pathak, Nikhil Tripathi, and Prashant Mishra near the Basti bus stand," the DIG added. Investment-trading lure (Kotwali): Victims were promised handsome returns through online "trading". The gang collected their banking credentials and diverted cyber fraud proceeds from other states into these accounts, police said. Free bank account scam (Lalganj): Accused allegedly opened new bank accounts for villagers by promising "free facilities". These accounts were linked to fake or pre-activated SIM cards, while ATM cards and cheque books were kept by the gang for later misuse, officials explained Gov scheme scam (Sonha): Gang members allegedly roamed around villages claiming to help residents access money from government schemes. Once bank accounts were opened, all documents were seized and used for laundering cybercrime funds, they added. Basti superintendent of police (SP) Abhinandan said they have identified 38 bank accounts used to route the fraud money. These accounts are linked to more than 74 cyber fraud complaints filed across various states. The combined fraud amount currently traced stands at Rs.4,49,61,225 and investigators say the figure is likely to rise. The accused have been booked in three separate cases registered at Kotwali, Lalganj and Sonha police stations under relevant sections of the IPC, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and IT Act (66D)....