Ludhiana Police bust interstate cyber fraud gang, recover Rs 17.35 lakh in cash

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 20

In a major breakthrough against cybercrime, Ludhiana Commissionerate Police on Wednesday claimed to have cracked down on an interstate cyber fraud gang that orchestrated a major financial scam, resulting in the illegal transfer and withdrawal of approximately Rs 57 lakh from the bank accounts of an NRI customer, Ramandeep M Grewal.

Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu told The Tribune that Ludhiana Police wasted no time on receiving the complaint and registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC and the IT Act at Sadar police station here on September 5.

A comprehensive investigation was immediately launched, he said, adding that the crime came to light when the bank manager, Punit Sahni, analysed the large transactions report (LTR), revealing the magnitude of the cyber fraud.

Sidhu said the gang was led by Sukhjit Singh, a relationship manager at HDFC Bank, who identified potential targets, including NRIs, elderly individuals, and dormant account holders. "They exploited the account of Ramandeep Grewal, an NRI residing in the UK, whose linked mobile number had been disconnected and reissued," he said.

The culprits, Sukhjit Singh and his accomplice Luv Kumar, managed to lure the new owner of the mobile number with promises of a job, securing his identity proofs, and ultimately porting the number to their control.

With compromised personal details, they hacked into the NRI customer's Net Banking using OTPs, changed the linked email address, added beneficiaries, and ordered a new debit card via Net Banking.

The Police Commissioner revealed that a sum of Rs 57 lakh was transferred to three other bank accounts held by their associates - Sneha from Chandigarh, Kirna Devi from Faridabad and Nilesh Pandey.

Police have arrested four key individuals -- Sukhjit Singh of Ludhiana, Luv Kumar of Bihar, Nilesh Pandey of Ghazipur, and Abhishek of Delhi.

"Substantial recoveries have been made, including Rs 17.35 lakh in cash, Rs 7.24 lakh frozen in various bank accounts, a Macbook Air, four mobile phones, three cheque books, and eight ATM debit/credit cards.

"Ludhiana Police is committed to furthering investigations to uncover any additional accomplices and ensure justice is served," Sidhu said, commending the swift action taken by the police officials.

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