Operation Vajra Prahar leads to mass arrests

JAIPUR: In a decisive crackdown against cybercrime, the Police Headquarters initiated ‘Operation Vajra Prahar,’ exposing widespread financial fraud orchestrated by call centres in Deeg, Alwar, Bharatpur, Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur, and Jodhpur over the last three days. A total of 475 cyber thugs were apprehended across the state, and substantial evidence was seized, including 152 mobiles, 104 ATM cards, 89 SIM cards, 10 chequebooks, 40 bank passbooks, 6 laptops, and Rs 4 lakh 85 thousand in cash.
Moreover, in collaboration with banks and telecom companies, the investigating authorities identified and blocked 2.4 lakh mobile SIMs and 2.16 lakh IMEI numbers associated with the apprehended cyber fraudsters. Additionally, an amount of Rs 63 crore 21 lakh deposited by these cyber thugs in various banks was frozen.
Dr Ravi Prakash Mehrada, DG (Cyber Crime), stated that the cybercrime branch of the headquarters and district superintendents of police, including the commissionerate, actively participated in ‘Operation Vajra Prahar.’ The Commissionerate and District Police have launched campaigns to apprehend fraudsters under this operation. The arrests include 88 individuals involved in fraudulent call centres in locations like Ramgarh, Barodamev, Govindgarh, Laxmangarh, Raini, and Naugawan in Alwar. In Deeg district, 30 cyber thugs associated with the Meo gang were apprehended, and 15 cyber thugs were arrested from Dausa district. In Jaipur Commissionerate’s West District, 5 individuals were arrested, and the South District Police apprehended twenty accused, including 13 girls, in a cyber fraud case, recovering a significant quantity of electronic devices.
Udaipur police arrested 17 fake escort cyber thugs, seizing 17 mobile phones and 19 ATM cards. Evidence suggests the connection of this gang to cyber thugs in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand, prompting police teams to be dispatched to these states for further investigation and arrests.
The Cyber Cell of the Police Headquarters, while scrutinizing electronic devices recovered from cyber thugs, blocked 2,04,760 SIMs and 2,16,627 IMEI numbers identified in other states as well as the state of the cyber thugs. Simultaneously, identified bank accounts holding Rs 63,21,40,640 were frozen, dealing a significant blow to the financial infrastructure supporting cybercrime.