Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, May 15: In a decisive move against cybercrime, Bengaluru’s Adugodi Police have dismantled an organised interstate cyber fraud syndicate, arresting 12 individuals —most of them from Uttar Pradesh —for running a sophisticated online scam that preyed on job seekers with fake work-from-home offers.
The operation’s masterminds have been identified as Harshavardhan Ojha (25), a BTech graduate from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, and Sonu (27), a labour contractor originally from Prayagraj and residing in Navi Mumbai.
Police say the duo spearheaded the racket that tricked victims by offering fake online jobs and later extracted money under false claims such as "credit score fixing" to process payments.
Prime accused Harshavardhan Ojha
The investigation began after a 42-year-old homemaker from LR Nagarl odged a complaint on January 22 at Adugodi police station. She reported having been conned out of Rs 5 lac across multiple transactions after being lured by the promise of high returns for completing simple digital tasks.
Following leads from this complaint, police traced the fraudulent money trail to multiple bank accounts opened using fake documents. One such account was linked to Sonu, who was arrested from his workplace in Mumbai on April 19.
During questioning, he admitted to having arranged for several bank accounts using the identities of migrant workers. He allegedly earned Rs 1,500 per account, while accounts opened with nationalised banks brought in as much as Rs 20,000 in commission. The account details, along with passbooks, ATM cards, and SIM cards, were then sent to associates in Uttar Pradesh.
The other arrested accused include Akash Kumar Yadav (23), Gorakhnath Yadav (20), Sanjith Kumar (25) from Bihar, and Akash Kumar (19), Amith Yadav (19), Gaurav Pratap Singh (22), Brijesh Singh (20), Raj Mishra (21), Tushar Mishra (22), and Gautam Shailesh (25) —all from Uttar Pradesh.
During the bust, police recovered a trove of evidence that included 400 SIM cards, 140 ATM cards, 17 cheque books, 27 mobile phones, 22 bank passbooks, income and expenditure ledgers, and Rs 15,000 in cash.
All 12 accused were first produced before a court in Uttar Pradesh on April 27, then transferred to Bengaluru on a transit remand. They have since been remanded to judicial custody as further investigations are underway.
The crackdown was led by inspector Ravi Kumar C of Adugodi Police Station, who was lauded for his team’s swift and coordinated response in exposing the cybercrime network.
Bengaluru police have reiterated their appeal to citizens to remain alert to online job frauds and report any suspicious activities immediately.