Financial fraud: 3 key accused arrested

BALURGHAT: South Dinajpur district police have arrested three prime accused in a major bank fraud case involving cybercrime and financial deception. The arrested individuals have been identified as Rakibul Islam, Moktar Islam and Ratna Roy. All three were presented before the Balurghat court on Wednesday, with police seeking five days of custody for further investigation.

Rakibul and Moktar are brothers and police are currently searching for their father, Golap Islam, who is suspected to be involved and has gone absconding. Ratna Roy, a transgender resident of Gangarampur, has also been arrested based on information gathered during interrogation.

Numerous complaints were earlier lodged with the South Dinajpur Cyber Crime Police regarding fraudulent phone calls that led to unauthorised withdrawals from bank accounts. Acting on these complaints, the district police’s special team launched an extensive investigation. The arrests were made from Patiram, where Rakibul and Moktar were nabbed. Ratna Roy was apprehended shortly after. During the operation, police seized one laptop, 22 mobile phones, one passport, 90 SIM cards, 19 debit cards, 8 PAN cards and 4 bank passbooks from the accused.

DSP Headquarters, Vikram Prasad, stated: “Financial frauds have been on the rise across the country and our district is no exception. This group was operating not only in South Dinajpur but also beyond. With further interrogation, we aim to uncover additional individuals linked to this network.

Police have intensified their efforts to locate Golap Islam, believed to be a key member of the fraudulent ring.”