COMMON SERVICE CENTRES (CSCs) TURNED INTO A NEW TOOL FOR CHEATING INNOCENT CITIZENS

MULE ACCOUNT OPERATOR & SIM CARD DISTRIBUTOR INVOLVED IN CYBER FRAUD NETWORK ARRESTED BY CYBER POLICE NORTH,  72-YEAR-OLD SENIOR CITIZEN CHEATED OF ₹1,99,003.54/- ON THE PRETEXT OF CHANGING THE NAME ON HIS TPDDL ELECTRICITY CONNECTION,  03 KEY OPERATIVES OF MULE ACCOUNT NETWORK ARRESTED FROM UTTAR PRADESH; OVER ₹2.50 CRORE, RANSACTIONS TRACED THROUGH RECOVERED ACCOUNTS.  DEDICATED POLICE TEAM COVERED APPROXIMATELY 1,000 KM ACROSS THREE DISTRICTS AND SUCCESSFULLY APPREHENDED ALL THREE ACCUSED WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE FIELD OPERATION. MULE ACCOUNT/CSC WALLET OPERATOR AND SIM CARD DISTRIBUTOR AMONG THREE ACCUSED ARRESTED FROM SHAHJAHANPUR, HARDOI AND LAKHIMPUR KHERI, UTTAR PRADESH. ACCUSED WERE FOUND INVOLVED IN PROCUREMENT, OPERATION AND SUPPLY OF BANK ACCOUNTS, CSC WALLETS AND SIM CARDS TO CYBER FRAUDSTERS FOR ROUTING CHEATED MONEY ON COMMISSION BASIS.• 05 CYBER-FRAUD COMPLAINTS FROM DIFFERENT STATES HAVE SO FAR BEEN LINKED WITH THE RECOVERED BANK ACCOUNT, WHILE FURTHER ANALYSIS IS UNDERWAY TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL VICTIMS.  05 MOBILE PHONES, 20 SIM CARDS, 09 PASSBOOKS, 06 CHEQUE BOOKS, 15 DEBIT/CREDIT CARDS AND 01 BIOMETRIC FINGERPRINT MACHINE RECOVERED.

Face2News/New Delhi

A cyber fraud complaint was received at PS Cyber North, Delhi, wherein the victim had applied for a solar power connection with Tata Power Pvt. Ltd. and had also initiated the process for change/transfer of the name on the existing electricity connection and meter. On 18.07.2026, the victim received a call from mobile number 88668193XX. The caller falsely represented himself as being associated with the electricity connection/name-change process and informed the victim that an additional payment of ₹13/- was required to complete the process.

The accused thereafter sent an APK file through WhatsApp and induced the victim to install the same and make the purported payment. Believing the caller to be genuine, the victim followed the instructions, after which ₹1,99,003.54/- was fraudulently siphoned off from his PNB account. Accordingly, e-FIR No. 00195/26 was registered at PS Cyber North, Delhi, and investigation was taken up.

TEAM, INVESTIGATION & OPERATION:  A dedicated team under the overall supervision of Ms. Niharika Bhatt IPS, DCP/North, and under the guidance of Sh. Pukhraj Kamal Gupta IPS, Addl. DCP-I/North and Sh. Ram Dulesh Meena, Addl. DCP-II/North and under the leadership of Sh. Vishesh Dhatterwal, ACP/Operations/North District and Insp. Rohit Gahlot, SHO/PS Cyber North, comprising SI Arvind Yadav, HC Himanshu and HC Ravi, was formed with the objective of identifying and apprehending the persons involved in the fraud and dismantling the network facilitating the movement of cheated money.

Considering the sensitivity of the case and the involvement of multiple layers in the financial trail, the dedicated team undertook an extensive technical and financial investigation. Detailed technical analysis and other technical inputs was conducted. Simultaneously, the financial trail was meticulously examined across various bank accounts and payment channels to identify the beneficiaries, account holders and facilitators involved in routing the cheated amount. Correlation of the technical inputs gradually narrowed down the locations of the suspects to Shahjahanpur, Hardoi and Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh.

TECHNICAL SURVEILLANCE LEADS TO THREE ARRESTS: On 31.08.2026, based on technical surveillance and developed intelligence, accused Ashish Kumar was apprehended from Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. His interrogation and further technical inputs led to the apprehension of Amit Kumar from Hardoi, followed by Umesh Chand from Lakhimpur Kheri.

Thus, through coordinated technical investigation and field action, all three accused were apprehended from three different districts of Uttar Pradesh, covering approximately 1,000 km within a short span of time.

MULE ACCOUNT TRAIL EXPOSED: During the course of investigation, it was revealed that the cheated amount was routed through the PayU payment gateway to a CSC merchant and thereafter transferred to a CSC Wallet registered in the name of Ashish Kumar Jansewa Kendra. The mobile number linked with the wallet, 88699364XX, was found registered in the name of Shivam S/o Ranvir, R/o Mohammdi, Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, and was found switched off.

Further investigation revealed that SBI Account No. 4075468XXX, registered in the name of Ashish Kumar, was linked with mobile number 63949603XX, which was registered in his name and showed frequent location changes. Through continuous technical surveillance the accused was traced to Shahjahanpur, U.P, where he was apprehended.

Verification further revealed that Ashish Kumar was not actually operating any Jansewa Kendra, despite holding the CSC licence in his name. During interrogation he disclosed that he had shared his CSC Wallet ID and password with Amit Kumar who was using the same for transactions.

SIM CARD DISTRIBUTION & WALLET MISUSE UNEARTHED: Continuous technical surveillance led to the apprehension of Amit Kumar from Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh. During interrogation, he disclosed his involvement in procuring CSC wallets, passwords and bank accounts, and replacing linked mobile numbers with fraudulent/fake numbers.

He further revealed that SIM cards issued to customers during porting were retained and misused for operating CSC wallets and facilitating fraudulent transactions. Examination of his recovered mobile phone established a technical link with the fraudulent CSC wallet transaction. Amit Kumar also disclosed that he had provided the wallet details to his associate Umesh Chand against a 5% commission on the credited amount.

Based on the information developed and technical surveillance, a raid was conducted at Mandwa, Lakhimpur Kheri, resulting in the apprehension of Umesh Chand.

WHATSAPP TRAIL REVEALS FURTHER LINK IN THE NETWORK: During sustained interrogation, Umesh Chand disclosed that he had shared the CSC wallet details with one Ram Das, who communicated with him through WhatsApp and operated on a commission basis.

WhatsApp chats and transaction-related digital evidence were recovered from the accused persons’ mobile phones. The recovered devices, SIM cards and banking documents are being analysed to trace the financial trail, identify other associates, and ascertain their involvement in other cyber fraud cases.

₹2.50 CRORE+ TRANSACTION TRAIL EXPOSES WIDER CYBER FRAUD NETWORK: Scrutiny of the recovered bank records revealed transactions exceeding ₹2.50 crore, with five cyber-fraud complaints from different States already linked to the accounts.

The accused allegedly used CSC wallets to route cheated funds through bill payments and other transactions. Further analysis of digital and financial records is underway to identify additional victims, beneficiaries and other associates involved in the network.

KNOW THE ACCUSED PERSONS ”  Ashish Kumar, Aged 24 Years, R/o Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, He studied B.A.,  Amit Kumar, Aged 23 years, R/o Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, He studied B.A. and BTC Dropout. AND  Umesh Chand, Aged 37 years, R/o Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, He studied B.Com., MBA, C-TET.

RECOVERY: 05 Mobile Phones, 20 SIM Cards, 09 Passbooks, 06 Cheque Books, 15 Debit/Credit Cards, 01 Biometric Fingerprint MachineFURTHER

INVESTIGATION: Further investigation is underway. The recovered digital devices, bank records and documents are being subjected to technical and forensic analysis to trace the complete money trail, identify additional victims and apprehend the remaining mule account holders, CSC wallet operators, SIM suppliers, beneficiaries and facilitators. The evidence is also being examined to ascertain the accused persons’ involvement in other cyber-fraud cases and dismantle the wider network., said Niharika Bhatt, IPS, DCP, North Distt. Delhi.