Hanumangarh Police bust Pakistan-linked cybercrime gang, 1 held

Hanumangarh police have busted a major cyber fraud racket and arrested a man allegedly linked to a Pakistan-based gang. Illegal transactions worth about Rs 3.26 crore have been traced to the accused’s bank accounts, connected to 36 cyber fraud complaints across 14 states. Bank documents and electronic devices have also been seized.

Hanumangarh Superintendent of Police Hari Shankar said the accused, Hardeep Singh (29), a resident of Dabli Was Maulvi village in Dabli Rathan, was arrested following an investigation by the Hanumangarh Cyber Police Station.

The case came to light last month after Rajpal Singh lodged a complaint regarding fraudulent transactions from his bank account.

According to the SP, Hardeep was associated with a cyber fraud gang operating from Pakistan. He allegedly supplied Indian bank accounts, mobile SIM cards and identity documents to the gang. The money obtained through fraud was converted into electronic currency (USDT) and transferred to handlers in Pakistan.

Police recovered 26 bank passbooks, eight cheque books, 18 ATM cards, eight SIM cards and three mobile phones from the accused.

Investigations revealed that Hardeep procured bank account details and documents by deceiving people, which were then shared with the Pakistani operatives. The gang lured victims through fake advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, offering discounted products, victim assistance or posing as entities like “Harsh Sai Foundation”. Once victims were duped, the defrauded money was deposited into the accounts arranged by Hardeep and later distributed among the gang members.

Before his arrest, Hardeep was questioned by multiple agencies at a joint intelligence centre. He was later produced before a court, which remanded him to police custody till February 6.