East Champaran: Bihar Police have arrested two men for allegedly operating a cyber fraud network linked to Pakistani nationals, facilitating suspicious financial transactions through Indian bank accounts and QR codes, officials said on Saturday. The arrests were made during pre-dawn raids on November 7.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

A special police team led by Sadar SDPO-1 Dilip Kumar conducted simultaneous raids at two rented houses in the Belisarai area at around 1:20 am on Saturday, acting on a tip-off. Superintendent of Police Swarn Prabhat confirmed the operation and said the accused were taken into custody without incident.

Source: Nation Press

The two men have been identified as Pankaj Gupta, a resident of Semmuapur under Dumariyaghat police station, and Raju Kushwaha alias Raju Kumar Bhagat, 22, a resident of Shyampur Barwa under Sangrampur police station. Police said both were living in rented accommodation in Belisarai at the time of their arrest.

Phones, ATM cards and a Pakistan link on WhatsApp, police say

Investigators seized two Android mobile phones and five ATM cards from the accused — three issued by Federal Bank, one by IDFC First Bank and one by Bank of India, registered in the names Raju Kumar and Raju Kumar Bhagat. Police said the phones contained WhatsApp numbers linked to Pakistan, suspicious chat records and financial transaction histories.

According to preliminary investigation, the accused were allegedly operating under instructions from Pakistani contacts, receiving money into Indian bank accounts via QR codes before transferring it onward to other accounts. Police suspect the accounts were being used to receive and launder proceeds of cyber fraud; the allegations have not been tested in court.

What happens next

The seized phones and ATM cards have been sent for forensic examination. Investigators are analysing transaction records and digital communications to determine the total amount routed through the accounts, whether the network had connections across multiple states, and who the alleged Pakistani contacts and masterminds are. Police have not ruled out further arrests. The raiding team also included Inspector Rajiv Ranjan, Sub-Inspectors K.V. Hanumanta, Santosh Kumar and Satish Kumar, Jamadar Bhim Yadav and constable Putul Kumari.