LUCKNOW, Aug. 4 -- In a joint operation, Gosaiganj police and the Lucknow cybercrime cell on Sunday arrested four interstate cyber fraudsters-one from Maharashtra and three from Karnataka-for allegedly duping people using fake Facebook nursery pages. The accused lured victims with offers of high-quality banana plant saplings at low prices and cheated a farmer of Rs.29.25 lakh in Lucknow. Those arrested have been identified as Baburao Sambhaji Mali, 34, of Sangli, Maharashtra, and three residents of Vijayapur in Bijapur, Karnataka-Kallayya Pattadamath, 32, Mahmad Rafik Tamboli, 42, and Basappa Bhimppa Bandivaddar, 38. According to additional deputy commissioner of police (south), Lucknow, Rallapalli Vasanth Kumar, the gang operated through multiple Facebook profiles such as Fac Bioplants, Shiv Bioplants, Anand Shivkumar and Sai Nursery. They posted forged agricultural certificates and promotional material to build credibility. "Awadhesh Kumar of Barua village in Gosaiganj and a banana plant seller by profession was among those targeted. On June 22, he came across a Facebook page offering banana plant saplings at heavily discounted rates. The page shared convincing documents to back its claims. Over the next few days, Kumar was persuaded into transferring Rs.29.25 lakh in phases to various bank accounts controlled by the gang," said ACP, Gosaiganj, Rishabh Runwal. Alarmed after not receiving any delivery, Kumar filed a complaint at Gosaiganj police station and also approached the cybercrime cell. The team launched a technical investigation and tracked the suspects to their respective locations in Sangli and Vijayapur. "The police recovered six mobile phones and two ATM cards used in the crime and have successfully frozen Rs.4 lakh from the gang's bank accounts. The gang admitted running similar frauds in other states using different aliases and mule accounts," the ADCP (south) added. An FIR has been lodged under sections of the IT Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway to identify more victims and trace the wider network of fraud....