Srinagar, Nov 05 (KNO): In a major cyber fraud investigation, poor families holding Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration cards were lured with monthly commissions of up to Rs 10,000 to provide their bank accounts, which were then used to route money through fraudulent online investment and gaming platforms in a racket involving transactions worth Rs 209 crore, a top police officer told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) on Thursday.
He said the investigations have unearthed a Ganderbal link involving transactions worth around Rs 2.5 crore, while nearly 200 bank accounts linked to Jammu and Kashmir were under scrutiny for their suspected connection with the wider network.
The official told KNO that a local person from Ganderbal was approached and persuaded to provide bank account details in exchange for commission. The transactions subsequently came under the scanner of Ganderbal Police, which investigated the suspected links.
The alleged main handler, an MBBS doctor from Haryana identified as Ekant Yogdutt, alias Dr Morphine, was apprehended at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), New Delhi, while returning from China, the official said.
He said the doctor had pursued his MBBS studies in the Philippines and allegedly learnt the techniques of operating such financial networks during his stay abroad, including in China.
Investigators have found that around 20 bank accounts were allegedly operated in the names of the doctor and his wife, with 10 accounts each linked to them. Online gaming and other digital platforms were used to facilitate transactions and move money through multiple accounts.
Earlier, SSP Ganderbal Khalil Ahmad Poswal, while addressing a press conference on February 16 this year had said that Police had identified 835 suspicious bank accounts linked to the racket, with transactions worth Rs 209 crore verified in 290 accounts.
He had said the amount involved could cross Rs 400 crore after verification of the remaining accounts. Police had also arrested nine persons, including the Haryana-based doctor, in connection with the case.
Poswal had said the accused allegedly targeted BPL ration-card holders, offering them monthly commissions of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 in exchange for their bank accounts and ATM cards.
The role of certain bank employees was also being examined for their suspected involvement in facilitating the transactions, officials said.
Police have cautioned people against sharing bank accounts, ATM cards, QR codes or banking credentials with strangers in exchange for commissions, warning that such practices could make them part of organised cyber fraud networks—(KNO)