New Delhi, Oct 30 — The East District Cyber Police have arrested three persons for their involvement in a fraud network that reportedly operated a mobile call centre inside a moving SUV to evade location tracking. Police have recovered seven mobile phones, 15 bank, debit and Metro cards, cheque books, passbooks and other financial documents.
The accused have been identified as Lokesh Tomar (37), a resident of Old Kondli; Tushar (35), a resident of Shahdara; and Himanshu Rathore, a resident of Kalyan Puri.
According to the police, the case originated from a complaint filed by Neelesh Vishwakarma, a resident of Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district, who was cheated of Rs 65,000 on the pretext of processing fees for the refund of Rs 45 lakh invested in insurance policies.
Following the complaint, an FIR was registered at the Cyber Police Station, East District, under Sections 318(4) and 112(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation was initiated.
During the investigation, an Indian Overseas Bank account linked to Himanshu Rathore came under scrutiny after suspicious transactions were flagged on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Further investigation led to the identification of other suspected members of the network.
A dedicated team comprising Sub Inspector Vinay Kumar, Head Constables Devendra and Nitin, and Woman Constable Aanchal was constituted under the leadership of Inspector Pawan Yadav, SHO of the Cyber Police Station, under the supervision of the ACP/Operations, East District.
Police examined suspicious banking transactions and the suspected use of mule accounts to receive and transfer fraudulent proceeds. Himanshu Rathore was apprehended during the investigation.
Further inquiries revealed that the accused were using a white car as a mobile operational base, frequently changing locations to avoid detection. Through technical analysis and field surveillance, the police tracked the vehicle and intercepted it in the Old Kondli area of East Delhi, leading to the apprehension of the other two accused.
During the operation, police recovered a car, seven mobile phones, 15 bank, debit and Metro cards, five PAN cards, four Aadhaar cards or copies, six cheque books, three passbooks, a signed cheque, two rent agreements, 11 passport-size photographs, nine pages containing a customer list and a suspected forged stamp bearing the NPCI name.
According to the police, Tomar is suspected of coordinating the operation and arranging mule bank accounts. Tushar contacted potential victims and induced them to share sensitive banking information, including one-time passwords (OTPs) and credentials, by impersonating officials or representatives. Rathore is suspected of providing bank accounts to receive and transfer fraudulent funds in exchange for commissions.
Police are also examining the accused's possible links to cyber fraud cases in Mumbai and Telangana, along with suspected interstate connections.
Further investigation is underway to identify other individuals involved and trace the financial transactions.