New Delhi: The Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has dismantled a sprawling cybercrime and sextortion network operating across Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, six individuals have been arrested and nine others bound down in connection with the racket, which involved banking fraud, fake loan call centres, and a high-tech sextortion scheme. The operation, led by Inspector Manjeet Kumar under the supervision of ACP Anil Sharma, has exposed a sophisticated syndicate using synthetic financial identities to carry out untraceable digital crimes.
On May 24, police acted on intelligence about the movement of synthetic bank account kits in Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar. Acting swiftly, police apprehended three individuals, Ujjawal Pandey (30), Gaurav Barua (24), and Yug Sharma (19) with fake bank documents, pre-activated SIM cards, and devices used in cyber fraud. These tools enabled the criminals to bypass KYC checks and operate illegal banking channels. Interrogation of the accused led to a raid in the Mundka area of Delhi, where police busted an illegal call centre masquerading as a bank loan provider. The racket, led by Dilshad Ali and his absconding associate Amit, defrauded victims by offering fake loans and extracting “processing fees” via QR codes before disappearing. Seven people were apprehended in connection with this scam. A second major bust followed in New Ashok Nagar, where four more individuals were arrested for running a sextortion racket.
Victims were targeted through fake social media profiles, lured into video calls on WhatsApp, and secretly recorded while pornographic clips were played. The footage was then used to blackmail victims under threat of public exposure. Police recovered 28 mobile phones, 30 SIM cards, two laptops, eight cheque books, and 15 debit cards. Several compromising videos and images used to extort victims were also seized. Investigators have traced a money trail exceeding Rs 5 crore linked to these operations. The arrested individuals, including college graduates, former call centre employees, and young adults, were lured into the racket by the promise of easy money. Investigations are ongoing as police work to identify further links and accomplices involved in the widespread cybercrime network.