Dehradun, Apr 9: The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two members of an inter-state organised gang from Jammu and Kashmir for their alleged involvement in cyber fraud, officials said on Wednesday.
Senior Superintendent of Police (STF) Ajay Singh said the accused — Shaukat Hussain Malik and Bilal Ahmed, both residents of Budgam — were arrested after a difficult operation during which locals attempted to exert pressure on police and court authorities.
Despite the challenges, the STF team managed to secure police remand of the accused, he said.
Three mobile phones, several ATM cards, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and documents related to suspicious financial transactions were recovered from their possession, Singh said, adding that the recovery has helped uncover an organised cyber fraud network operating across multiple states.
According to the SSP, the case came to light after a 71-year-old resident of Dehradun lodged a complaint at the Cyber Crime Police Station. The complainant alleged that on November 21, 2025, unidentified individuals posing as officials of the Delhi Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) contacted him and claimed that money laundering activities were being carried out in his name through a Delhi-based bank account.
Singh said the fraudsters intimidated the victim during a WhatsApp video call by displaying forged documents and a purported non-bailable arrest warrant while posing as police officers.
Under the pretext of verifying his bank accounts, they allegedly coerced him into transferring Rs 65 lakh to multiple bank accounts.
The complainant later realised he had been cheated and filed a formal complaint, he said.
During the investigation, police analysed details of the bank accounts, mobile numbers and WhatsApp calls used in the crime, which led to the identification of Malik and Ahmed, Singh said.
The SSP said a large number of local residents gathered outside the police station and later near the court complex during the arrest, allegedly attempting to exert pressure on the STF team.
However, the team acted with patience and restraint and successfully presented its case in court to obtain police remand of the accused, he added.
Singh also noted that the operation was carried out with utmost sensitivity, considering the history of grenade attacks on the local police station in the area.
According to the investigation, money obtained through cyber fraud in different states was routed through multiple bank accounts and later withdrawn using ATM cards and mobile phones. Transactions worth several lakh rupees were detected in the accounts used by the accused within a few months, he said.
The probe further revealed that complaints linked to these bank accounts have been registered in at least seven states, including Uttarakhand. Police in other states are being contacted as part of the investigation, the SSP added.
