Assam STF arrests six in mule-account fraud racket, probes Pakistan link

The Special Task Force (STF) of Assam Police has arrested six people from different parts of Guwahati in a case involving an organised financial fraud network that allegedly used "mule" bank accounts, and investigators are examining suspected links to Pakistan Intelligence Operatives (PIOs), according to reports on Monday, November 2.

The arrests were made between October 28 and October 30 with help from Guwahati City Police.

How the case began

The STF acted on intelligence inputs from central agencies, including the Army's Gajraj Military Intelligence unit based in Tezpur, Northeast Live and Free Press Journal reported. A case was registered at the STF police station on a complaint lodged by Sonitpur Police.

Investigators first flagged a State Bank of India account held by Marjina Begum of Ganesh Nagar, under Chandmari police station. Over 47 days, from June 22 to August 5 this year, the account received several lakh rupees in credits, and the money was withdrawn almost as soon as it arrived. Police say that pattern is typical of a mule account, where an account holder lets others route money through their account, often for a commission.

Six arrested in three days

According to the reports, the probe led to two young men from Bamunimaidan, Mofijul Haque (22) and Himangshu Das (19), who were allegedly involved in transactions linked to the account. The STF arrested Marjina Begum, Haque and Das on October 28 and seized mobile phones and documents.

Police said questioning of Haque and Das led them to others. Rakib Hussain (34) was arrested on October 29 in the Chandmari area. On October 30, the STF picked up Iftar Hussain (25) from Uzanbazar, under Latasil police station, and Arman Azuz Hoque (20) from the Noonmati area.

Laptops, mobile phones, other electronic devices, bank passbooks, ATM cards and documents were seized during the raids.

What police suspect

Preliminary findings suggest the network has been active in several parts of the country for about two years and may have cheated victims of several crores of rupees, the reports said. Police believe the alleged mastermind is based outside Assam and directs the other members remotely.

Officials said the suspected connection to Pakistan-based intelligence operatives is still being examined, along with whether any other anti-national elements were involved. The nature of that link has not been made public, and none of the accused has been convicted. All are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Investigation continues

The STF is now trying to identify and arrest other members of the network, trace where the money went and find more mule accounts used by the group.

Police routinely warn people not to lend or sell their bank accounts, ATM cards or SIM cards to others. Account holders whose accounts are used to move fraud money can face criminal cases even if they did not run the scam themselves. Victims of online financial fraud can report it on the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in.