Varanasi: The Varanasi police on Wednesday arrested five cyber criminals, including the gang leader from Dhanbad in Jharkhand, in connection with a cyber fraud involving Rs42.50 lakh. The accused allegedly carried out the fraud by sending Trojan and SMS forwarder-based APK files to the victims. Police also recovered electronic devices, documents, a four-wheeler and cash from their possession.According to police, Madan Mohan Mishra, a resident of Tiwaripur village under Chaubepur police station, lodged a complaint at cyber crime police station on Dec 8, 2025, stating that cyber criminals had illegally accessed his bank account and siphoned off Rs42.50 lakh.Acting on the complaint, police registered a case under Section 318(4) of BNS and Section 66D of the IT Act at cyber crime police station. Additional sections—61(2), 317(2), 338, 336(3) and 340(2) of the BNS—were later added at the local police station. The case is being investigated by SHO Udaybeer Singh.A special team was formed to crack the case. Using electronic surveillance and analysis of digital footprints, the police arrested five accused from Dhanbad. The accused were identified as Shamim Ansari, Fakruddin alias Niranjan, Naseem Ansari, Shahbuddin Ansari and Sahab Lal Marandi, all residents of Dhanbad district. The police also recovered four Android mobile phones, a SIM card, two notices under Section 41A of the CrPC issued by Delhi Police, a village head’s seal, five blank Aadhaar update forms, a four-wheeler vehicle without a registration number and Rs66,000 cash.During interrogation, police said the accused revealed that they sent Trojan and SMS forwarder-based APK files to victims, enabling unauthorised access to mobile phones. Through this, they allegedly obtained internet banking user IDs, passwords and OTPs, and transferred money to mule bank accounts before withdrawing cash.Police further said the gang used forged village head letterheads, seals and Aadhaar update forms to illegally change address details on Aadhaar cards. Using these manipulated Aadhaar documents, bank accounts were opened in various banks, which were then used for committing cyber fraud.
