Haryana's Nuh, linked to Delhi blast, unmasked as nucleus of vast cyber fraud and terror funding network

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A sprawling inter-state cybercrime ring, believed to have routed over Rs 3,000 crore through more than 1,000 ‘mule’ bank accounts, has been traced to Nuh district in Haryana, according to a detailed investigation by the Madhya Pradesh police.

The district, already under scrutiny as an operational base for a ‘white-collar’ terror module linked to the 10/11 Delhi blast case, is now identified as the nucleus of Madhya Pradesh’s largest-ever cyber fraud operation.

The investigation, according to report by The New Indian Express, reveals that operatives based in Nuh masterminded a sophisticated network that sourced SIM cards and bank accounts from the Vindhya and Mahakoshal regions of Madhya Pradesh.

These resources were then used in an elaborate scheme to defraud individuals across the country.

The cybercrime unit outlined a complex operation. An illegal call centre, operated from a flat in Gurugram, was used to make fraudulent calls to potential victims. SIM cards, sourced by operatives in Madhya Pradesh and other states, were funnelled to the Nuh-based kingpins through a network of middlemen based in Patna, Bihar.

The heart of the operation, however, was the extensive use of ‘mule’ bank accounts. These accounts, belonging to individuals in Madhya Pradesh, were used as a pipeline to park and circulate the illicit funds. A senior MP police officer involved in the probe was cited by The New Indian Express as saying that the scale of financial movement was staggering.

“The funds were actually proceeds of cybercrimes committed in various parts of the country, religious charity money as well as money from unknown sources suspected to have been used possibly for terror funding,” the officer stated.

He further revealed that a large sum of money was routed through these mule accounts to the Middle East. The network also utilised shell companies based in Hyderabad and parts of Maharashtra to layer the transactions.

So far, more than 25 individuals from Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar have been reportedly arrested and charge-sheeted over the last 11 months. With the foundational cases against the foot soldiers established, authorities are now preparing to target the ringleaders.

“As the investigations progress, it’s becoming clear that operatives based in Nuh are the masterminds of the racket,” confirmed the investigating officer. “Now we are going to zero in on the racket masterminds in Nuh.”

Commenting on the evolving geography of cybercrime in India, SP Pranay Nagwanshi of the Madhya Pradesh cybercrime cell noted a significant shift.

“Years back it was Jamtara in Jharkhand, but crackdown saw newer hotspots in West Bengal. Over the last couple of years Nuh and adjoining Rajasthan districts have emerged as the cybercrime hub,” he was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express, highlighting how police pressure in one region displaces criminal activity to another.