High-Altitude Capture: Cyber Fraudsters Tracked Down in Remote Himalayas

In an unprecedented high-altitude pursuit, the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police Crime Branch apprehended two cyber fraudsters in Sarchu, a remote area on the Himachal-Ladakh border, as confirmed by a press release. This arrest was part of an interstate operation, extending over 800 km, and revealed the organized misuse of bank accounts owned by impoverished rural laborers to launder cybercrime proceeds.

The investigation stemmed from a complaint at the Crime Branch police station, where a victim reported a fraudulent deduction of 69,953 rupees. The scammer posed as an executive from an online coaching platform. The inquiry led authorities to Jharkhand's Dumka and Godda districts, where several bank accounts linked to the fraud were found under the names of illiterate daily wage earners. These accounts were allegedly opened under the directive of site contractors, who then retained ATM cards and passbooks to funnel cybercrime proceeds covertly.

Police executed coordinated raids to detain two laborers whose accounts had received stolen funds. The laborers' interrogation exposed the identities of key players—Imran Ansari and Mansoor Ansari—who fled Jharkhand to hide in the remote Himalayas. A dedicated team of Delhi Police officers tracked the suspects through Manali, Rohtang, and Keylong, eventually capturing both in Sarchu. The men, aged 43 and 55, confessed to leading a cyber fraud network that manipulated identities of vulnerable workers by offering them jobs and instructing them to open bank accounts disguised as salary channels.

DCP Harsh Indora, overseeing the operation, stated, "These criminals adopted a novel tactic of evading capture by hiding in remote, high-altitude locations like Ladakh, exploiting jurisdictional and network challenges." Further probes aim to identify additional suspects and dismantle the expansive network operating across multiple states.

(With inputs from agencies.)