Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Feb 27: In a major crackdown on organised cybercrime, Mangaluru police have dismantled a sophisticated fraud syndicate operating out of Hyderabad, arresting six men accused of funnelling illicit funds through dozens of compromised bank accounts across India.
The case, registered as Crime No. 09/2026 at the Cyber Crime police station, invokes Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigators say the operation had nationwide ramifications, with hundreds of complaints now linked to the accounts under scrutiny.
The investigation was triggered by a complaint from Mohammed Ikhyal, a resident of Bunder in Mangaluru. According to police, Ikhyal was approached by his acquaintance Ibrahim, who sought the use of a current account for “business purposes”.
Trusting the request, Ikhyal handed over his bank passbook, ATM card, cheque book and an Airtel SIM card linked to the account. That decision, officers say, enabled a sprawling cyber fraud network to exploit the account for illegal transactions.
“The account was systematically used to route suspicious funds. Technical analysis confirmed it was not an isolated misuse but part of an organised racket,” a senior investigating officer said.
A meticulous examination of transaction trails, SIM activity and device data led investigators to Hyderabad, where the core group was allegedly coordinating the operation. A special police team travelled to the city and apprehended five accused there, while a sixth was arrested in Mangaluru. All six have been produced before the jurisdictional court.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Sheikh Karimulla alias Rasool (27), son of late Sheikh Mohammed Ali alias Rahim of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh; Budidinne Vamshi alias Guru (21), son of Budidinne Obulesu of Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh; Panditi Kranthi Kumar (36), son of Panditi Nagayya of Hyderabad; Ibrahim (35), son of Abdul Razak of Mulki; Bade Srinivas (38), son of Narasayya of Hyderabad; and Utsala Santosh Krishna (35), son of U V Satyanarayana of Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
During coordinated raids, police seized 18 mobile phones, one laptop, 12 SIM cards and 18 debit cards allegedly used in the operation. Forensic examination of the seized devices uncovered details of 72 bank accounts suspected to have been pressed into service for fraudulent transactions.
Alarmingly, 30 of these accounts were linked to more than 272 complaints registered across the country on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). In one instance, a single bank account was associated with five complaints lodged from different states, highlighting the interstate spread of the racket.
Investigators revealed that the accused relied on a deceptively simple modus operandi. Through social media advertisements, they promised bank account holders commissions ranging from 4 to 6% in exchange for allowing their accounts to be used. Individuals lured by the prospect of easy money allegedly shared complete banking details, after which the accused obtained One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to facilitate transactions.
“The credentials were then relayed to handlers believed to be operating from abroad, enabling large-scale movement of funds,” an officer said.
The scale of the operation became starkly evident when investigators discovered that on February 26 alone, transactions exceeding Rs 2 crore were routed through the network in a single day.
Police are continuing to trace the financial trail and scrutinise additional linked accounts, with officials indicating that the total volume of fraud — and the number of victims — may increase as the investigation progresses.