BALURGHAT, June 10 -- In a significant breakthrough, South Dinajpur police along with the Balurghat Cyber Crime Police Station have busted an inter-district online financial fraud racket and arrested three individuals from different areas under Kumarganj Police Station late on Monday night.
The arrested accused - Bulbul Hossain Mondal, Jewel Sarkar and Mominur Mondal - were apprehended during a coordinated night-long operation carried out by the district's Special Operation Group (SOG) and cyber crime officials. The crackdown took place in the Dattamati, Bishwanathpur and Kalna areas.
According to Bikram Prasad, DSP Headquarters, who addressed a Press conference on Tuesday, the police recovered a total of 33 ATM cards, 8 SIM cards and 6 Android mobile phones from the possession of the accused.
Initial investigations revealed that the accused lured unsuspecting individuals with false promises of loans or financial rewards, convincing them to open bank accounts. These accounts, along with the associated SIM cards, were later used to conduct illegal online transactions and financial scams across the country. Victims, often unaware of the consequences, were exploited in exchange for small sums of money. "Over the past few weeks, several cyber fraud cases were being reported across various police stations in our district. We noticed a pattern where the defrauded money was being routed through local bank accounts," said DSP Bikram Prasad. "We launched a joint operation involving the Cyber Crime Police Station and our district's SOG team, which led us to these three key suspects."
He further added: "The accused frequently used different SIM cards and mobile devices to avoid detection by cyber tracking units. They are believed to be part of a larger network with connections across the country. Similar frauds have also been reported previously and we suspect links between the current accused and earlier arrested individuals."
The arrested trio has been booked under relevant sections of the IPC and the IT Act. Police have sought six-day custody of the accused from the Balurghat court for further interrogation. Police sources confirmed that investigations are underway to uncover additional members of the racket.
Focused surveillance is also being maintained in regions like Patiram and Kumarganj, which have seen a rise in such cyber fraud trends. Authorities have promised swift and extensive operations in the coming days to root out any remaining operatives. This case marks another major step in cracking down on organised cybercrime in South Dinajpur.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.