PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has busted a cyber fraud racket that allegedly hacked the online platform of Doon International School (DIS) and conned parents through fake fee payment messages. The STF arrested three men from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh in the case.
The senior superintendent of police officer STF Navneet Singh Bhullar said that the accused created a fake interface of the school’s “SchoolPad” platform and gained unauthorised access to its system, obtaining names, contact details and login credentials of students from all three DIS branches—City Campus, Riverside and Mohali. They then sent WhatsApp messages to parents, asking them to transfer Rs 4,990 for an AI-enabled robotics lab, making the communication appear official.
According to the SSP, the investigation began after the school lodged a complaint in July about hacking and misleading messages being sent to students and parents. The STF’s cyber crime unit traced the money trail through bank accounts and mobile numbers, identifying the accused as Mohammad Rizwan (19), Sudama Diwakar and Mohammad Faraz (18).
The team recovered four mobile phones, two bank passbooks and three SIM cards. Bhullar said that the preliminary investigation revealed that bank accounts linked to the accused saw transactions worth crores of rupees in recent months and that they are wanted in cybercrime cases in other states. Rizwan and Diwakar have past criminal records, with FIRs lodged against them in Bareilly. The SSP said that the STF are currently coordinating with police in other states to gather case details.
