CHANDIGARH, June 16 — In a crackdown on cyber fraud, the district cyber crime police arrested two men from Uttar Pradesh for allegedly exploiting migrant labourers to create fake bank accounts that were later used in online scams.
The accused, identified as Karan Kumar of Unnao, now residing in Dhakoli, Zirakpur, and Kanav Kapoor of Noida, were apprehended following a tip-off about suspicious activities near the Sector 20 cremation ground.
“Karan would target labourers from UP and Bihar, offering false promises of government benefits,” said a senior investigator. “He then collected their identity documents to open bank accounts, keeping control of their passbooks, ATM cards, cheque books and linked SIMs.”
The investigation revealed that these accounts were used to receive and withdraw money obtained through online fraud. Kanav, police said, would travel to Panchkula and Dhakoli periodically to collect the account credentials and SIM cards from Karan.
Acting on a tip that Kanav would be meeting Karan around 8 pm on June 14, police laid a trap near the Sector 20 cremation ground. At 8:20 pm, Karan arrived on a Haryana-registered bike, parked 200 metres away, and began making a call. Minutes later, Kanav approached on foot, carrying a bag. Both were swiftly apprehended.
From Karan, police recovered 18 ATM cards, 12 passbooks, and six cheque books. Kanav was carrying a laptop, six smartphones, two basic phones and seven SIM cards.
During interrogation, Karan admitted to opening bank accounts using identity documents of unknowing labourers and selling each account to Kanav for ₹3,000. “He also confessed to withdrawing cash deposited by Kanav and earning commission,” said an officer familiar with the probe.
Both suspects have prior criminal records, police confirmed. A fresh FIR has been registered under Sections 61 (criminal conspiracy) and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Sector-20 cybercrime police station.
Further investigations are underway to trace others linked to the racket, including digital money trails and suspected fraud networks.
