In a major breakthrough, a team from the Delhi Police has arrested the kingpin of a cyber fraud gang along with his associate from Jharkhand, police said on Friday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-West) Surendra Choudhary stated that a complaint was received at the Cyber Police Station, wherein the complainant, Hemant Kumar, was defrauded of Rs 1,80,615 by a scammer.

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According to Kumar’s statement, he received a call from an unknown number. The caller, impersonating a bank official, informed him that an international transaction was in progress on his credit card. He was warned that if the transaction was not stopped immediately, he would be charged Rs 15,000.

The victim further stated that the accused assured him that no personal data would be required to halt the transaction. Subsequently, the caller sent him a link via WhatsApp and instructed him to install a malicious app. Soon after completing the process, approximately ₹1,80,615 was debited from his account in 13 transactions.

Acting on the complaint, the police launched an investigation by tracking the alleged caller’s location. The app used in the fraud was meticulously analyzed to gather further leads, the DCP added.

During the probe, the team traced the IP address to the Jamtara and Dumka regions of Jharkhand. However, intelligence gathered on the suspect’s movements indicated that their location was frequently being changed between Godda and Dumka districts. The fraudsters were found to be regularly switching devices and SIM cards to evade detection, Choudhary said.

Following this, a raid was conducted in the suspected area, leading to the arrest of Munna Kumar Baidya, a resident of Dumka.

During interrogation, Baidya revealed that he operated the scam by purchasing malicious APK files via Instagram and Telegram. The gang acquired sensitive banking details, including CVVs and credit card information, through WhatsApp. They then called victims, claiming that unwanted services had been activated on their credit cards and sent them APK files under the pretext of deactivating them.

Based on the information provided by Baidya, multiple raids were carried out across Jharkhand to nab other gang members.

During these operations, Dinesh Kumar Mandal was arrested. Under sustained interrogation, he admitted to making fraudulent calls, withdrawing money from victims’ accounts, and distributing it among the gang members.

The investigation further revealed that the fraudsters had not only targeted the complainant but also multiple other victims. The device used for the fraud had made approximately 5,500 calls, and eight mobile numbers were used in the scam. A total of 27 NCRP complaints were linked to these mobile numbers, and five were associated with the specific number used in Kumar’s case.

A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the law, the DCP stated.