The Chandigarh cybercrime police have arrested two men for allegedly running “mule” bank accounts used to route money stolen from fraud victims across multiple states, including Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Mumbai and Gujarat.
The accused — Salman Ansari (24), a resident of Milakh village, Mullanpur, Mohali, and Bheem Saroj (32) of Khuda Lahora, Chandigarh — were arrested in a case registered at the cybercrime police station under Sections 317(2), 49 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on May 29.
The arrests were made under Operation Mule Hunt, a targeted drive against organised cybercrime networks, under the direction of SP (Cyber) Geetanjali Khandelwal.
How the racket worked
According to the police, tip-offs from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, flagged several Chandigarh-based bank accounts linked to fraud complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) from victims across multiple states.
Investigators found that these accounts were not being used for legitimate banking. Instead, they were functioning as “mule accounts” — bank accounts used by criminals to receive, park and transfer illegally obtained funds, obscuring the money trail.
During the interrogation, both accused admitted to their roles. An unknown person had approached Ansari to provide a mule account. Ansari persuaded Saroj to open a fresh bank account, which was subsequently handed over to the fraud network in exchange for a commission.
Large sums were deposited into Saroj’s account by unknown persons. Ansari would then withdraw the money through cheques and deliver the cash to the fraudsters. The commission earned was divided between the two.
The investigation confirmed that the Chandigarh accounts were part of a larger, multi-state cyber fraud operation. Further probe is underway.
