STF busts cyber fraud racket in Agra, 2 arrested, key operative absconding

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has busted a cyber fraud gang that lured women and residents through religious events and extorted money from them.

Two members of the gang have been arrested, and an EcoSport and a Honda car have been seized. The STF also recovered more than a dozen ATM and debit cards used in the fraud, officials confirmed on Friday.

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The arrested accused, Ravi Prakash, a resident of Sector 6, Awas Vikas Colony, Jagdishpura, originally hails from Bahadurpur in Deoria district.

The gang was led by Ajay alias Billu, a resident of Gihar Colony, Naveen Mandi, under the Kotwali police station limits in Mainpuri. He has multiple criminal cases registered against him.

Inspector Yatindra Sharma of the STF said that gang member Ravi Prakash had set up an organisation named Mahila Swasthya Mission Trust. Under the guise of conducting religious events, he recruited poor women and residents as members of the trust.

He charged them ₹50 to ₹100 for membership and ID creation. He then lured them by claiming that the trust received large donations and that members could benefit if they handed over their bank accounts and cheque books.

After gaining access, the gang collected signatures on cheque books, issued ATM cards in the members’ names, and even obtained SIM cards linked to those accounts.

The gang used these accounts to deposit money acquired through cyber fraud. Residents Lalit Garg and Satish Chandra Singhal, both from Awas Vikas Colony, were also trapped in a similar manner and handed over their bank accounts to the gang.

Suspicion arose when large transactions were detected in Lalit Garg’s account, leading to the account being frozen. He reported the matter to the STF, prompting an investigation that exposed the entire racket.

Ajay Singh was arrested in Mainpuri and Ravi Prakash in Agra. Another gang member, Ellis, a resident of Puneet Apartment, Jaipur House, is still absconding. The STF has seized two vehicles used by the gang and is continuing further investigation.