Chandigarh cops have arrested five individuals, including a bank manager’s assistant, on charges of operating in a mule account scheme that involved around 700 savings accounts. The inquiry discovered that out of these accounts, about 100 were employed in cybercrime activities across various locations within the country.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Cell received a tip-off that two individuals staying at Hotel Friends in Sector 52 were enticing people to open bank accounts in exchange for a commission of ₹10,000. Responding quickly to the information, a squad led by Inspector Rohitash Kumar, SHO of the Cyber Crime Police Station, captured the two suspects—Devender Kumar Yadav and Sankar Suvan Shukla, also known as Abhay Shukla—both from Uttar Pradesh.
The accused persuaded victims into creating bank accounts and subsequently took control of them, paying a one-time fee of ₹10,000. The accounts were then sold to cybercriminals for illicit activities.
Further investigation revealed the involvement of Avinash, an assistant manager at Indian Bank in Sector 17, who allegedly facilitated the opening of these accounts without proper verification. The police also arrested Ankit Jain, a Delhi resident who was involved in selling the mule accounts to handlers based in Dubai.
Birender Yadav, the hotel manager, was held for failing to register the accused’s stay at the hotel, where they had spent around 45 days.
Police discovered that the account holders, who were mostly from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, were unaware that their accounts were being exploited for cybercrime. The current investigation seeks to locate and capture more persons linked to this scam.
