Cyber fraud racket busted in Phagwara, 36 arrested

The Kapurthala district police, headed by Phagwara DSP Phagwara Bharat Bhushan and Inspector Amandeep Kaur of Cyber Cell, Kapurthala, busted a large-scale cyber fraud racket operating out of a rented premises on Palahi Road, Phagwara, late on Thursday night. The operation, carried out jointly by the Cyber Crime Police Station, Kapurthala, and Phagwara City Police, led to the arrest of 36 persons and the recovery of 40 laptops, 67 mobile phones, and ₹10 lakh in cash.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Toora said the accused were booked under FIR No. 14, dated September 19, 2025, at PS Cyber Crime Kapurthala. They face charges under sections 111, 318(4), 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act. Investigations are under way to trace the wider network and financial channels involved.

Preliminary inquiries revealed that the racket was being run by Amrinder Singh, alias Sabhi Tohri, a resident of Mohalla Gujratian in Phagwara, who had leased the premises to set up the illegal operation. The call centre was being managed by Jaspreet Singh, a resident of New Ranjit Nagar, and Sajan Madan of South Avenue, New Delhi. Both were found to have direct links with a Delhi-based individual identified as Suraj, who in turn is connected to a suspect named Shen from Kolkata.

According to the police, the group was duping people in the United States and Canada on the pretext of offering software solutions. The transactions were routed primarily through Bitcoin, while hawala channels were also used to transfer illicit funds. Officials said further details are being probed to uncover the scale of the fraud and the network’s international links.