Delhi Cyber Police bust inter-state fraud network in Operation Cy-Hawk, arrest 42, recover Rs 16 lakh, laptops, mobiles, and banking records.
Delhi Cyber Police officials display seized devices and cash after Operation Cy-Hawk, cracking inter-state cyber-financial fraud networks (Photo: File)
NEW DELHI: In a sweeping crackdown on cyber-financial crime, the South West District Cyber Police in Delhi has dismantled multiple inter-state fraud networks under Operation Cy-Hawk, arresting 42 suspects across 23 cases. The accused are linked to 377 NCRP complaints, involving an alleged fraud amount of Rs 2.54 crore.
The wide-ranging operation, carried out with active assistance from all police stations in the district, included meticulous technical examination, sustained surveillance over several weeks, and a series of targeted raids spanning Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. During the crackdown, police seized 43 mobile phones, 3 laptops, 2 computers, 17 passbooks, 14 debit cards, cheque books, and Rs 16 lakh in cash.
A major breakthrough came during the probe into suspicious financial activities involving ICICI Bank accounts that were being used in cheque withdrawal and mule account operations. These accounts were also found linked to multiple FIRs registered in Kolkata and Mumbai, prompting deeper scrutiny.
A police team tracked down mule-account provider Asgar Ali, who, during interrogation, identified Ankit Singh as the person responsible for assembling account holders and managing cash withdrawals. This line of investigation eventually led officers to Ravi Kumar Singh (31), a well-known cyber-fraud operator and the key mastermind behind several modules.
After conducting multiple raids across Noida, Ghaziabad, Shakarpur, and various parts of Delhi, officials succeeded in arresting Ravi. He later admitted to running fraudulent call centres in both Noida and Kotla Mubarakpur and confessed to attracting victims through fake Indigo Airlines job advertisements posted on OLX.
A subsequent raid on the Kotla Mubarakpur call centre resulted in the arrest of two of his associates Rajan Singh Negi and Kamlesh Pal—and the recovery of laptops, computers, mobile devices, and a register containing detailed entries of fraudulent transactions.
With this, police apprehended Ravi Kumar Singh, Kamlesh Pal, Rajan Singh Negi, Ankit Singh, Asgar Ali, and others. Two of these individuals were previously involved in criminal activities, including cheating and NDPS-related offences.
In a similar operation, officers arrested four individuals involved in ATM-based withdrawals using fraudulent bank accounts. Technical analysis conducted during the investigation registered under an FIR revealed that the gang was routing defrauded money into accounts held by Rajesh Kamat, who had been linked to six NCRP complaints.
