The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh arrested six members of an organised cyber fraud gang, including the mastermind, from Vibhuti Khand area of the state capital. The gang operated corporate bank accounts on rent to carry out large-scale cyber scams related to digital arrest, share market investments, online gaming, and other alleged fraudulent activities, stated STF in a press release on Saturday.
The STF also seized multiple electronic devices, bank documents, and luxury vehicles during the operation.
During the operation, the STF recovered 11 mobile phones, 18 debit and credit cards, three Aadhaar cards, three PAN cards, a driving license, voter ID, and 52 pages of WhatsApp chats containing APK files and corporate bank account details. They also seized ₹34,500 in cash and two four-wheeler cars alleged to be used in the crime.
Police said acting on intelligence, the STF team, under the supervision of additional superintendent of police Vishal Vikram Singh, apprehended the accused near the Aadhaar Card Office opposite a cafe in Vibhuti Khand at 11:05 pm on March 28.
The STF stated that investigation began when Atex Innovation Pvt Ltd, an IT solutions company in Lucknow, filed a complaint at the Cyber Crime Police Station, reporting a fraud of approximately ₹48 lakh. The complaint revealed that Abdul Malik, the gang’s leader, accessed the company’s private bank account through a malicious APK file and conducted around 3,200 unauthorised transactions before the bank froze the account. Further inquiry confirmed the transactions were linked to cyber fraud.
Other members of the gang are Ayush Mishra (BTech) from Gorakhpur, Yaseen Ahmed alias Yasir (Class 10) from Gonda, Syed Alim Hussain (BBA) from Gonda, Pushpendra Singh (MBA) from Rae Bareli, and Vijay Kumar Pathak (PhD) from Jaunpur. Each played a specific role in the criminal enterprise, press release stated.
According to STF officials, Malik in 2024, connected with Farhan from Lucknow, who introduced him to international operatives Jackie from Pune and Daniel from Kathmandu, Nepal. The gang recruited corporate bank account holders by promising high commissions.
The gang’s major operations include defrauding Atex Innovation Pvt Ltd of ₹47.58 lakh in December 2024 by manipulating a private bank account. In January 2025, they laundered ₹1.2 crore through an Indian Overseas Bank account obtained via a Telegram contact named Nilesh Yadav from Bihar. Electronic devices recovered during the raid revealed details of 10 corporate bank accounts used for cyber fraud, with 25 additional complaints registered against the gang across India.
An FIR under sections 318(4), 319(2), and 111(2)(b) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Section 66C of the Information Technology Act has been registered against the accused.
STF officials confirmed that efforts are ongoing to trace and apprehend other gang members, while, forensic analysis of the seized electronic devices is also underway to uncover further evidence of the gang’s operations.
