Uttarakhand STF brings cyber fraud accused from Tihar Jail, links found to international network
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The cyber crime unit of Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) brought a cyber fraud accused from Tihar Jail to court on a B-warrant in connection with a Rs 2.67 crore fraud case involving a Dehradun resident. The investigation revealed that the accused was part of an international fraud network operating from abroad with links to several Indian states, the deputy superintendent of police of cyber crime unit Ankush Mishra said.
He informed that the accused, identified as Mandeep Sarkar, a resident of Babanpur village in West Bengal, was earlier arrested under Sections 420 and 120B of the IPC by Delhi’s Special Cell and has been in judicial custody at Tihar Jail since September 27, 2024. He stated that the accused lured the Dehradun victim by adding them to WhatsApp groups such as FINANCIAL GAME W1 and EG-Junior Group V1, posing as an employee of the VIYAKA Exchange website.
The victim was persuaded to invest in cryptocurrency and online trading with promises of high returns, leading to multiple transfers that amounted to around Rs 2.67 crore into accounts linked to the accused. Mishra said that during the investigation, the cyber police collected bank account details, registered mobile numbers and WhatsApp data from service providers, banks and Meta. Verification revealed that accounts used in the fraud had transactions worth crores within months. Records also showed that the accused has FIRs and complaints in other states related to cybercrime.
Coordination with police in those states is underway, as per DSP. He stated that the accused was produced before the Dehradun court for further investigation under relevant sections.
