SHERGARH/MATHURA: After months of complaints linking a cluster of villages near Mathura’s border to online scams, police mounted a sweeping pre-dawn operation, detaining 34 people and seizing vehicles and mobile phones. Officials say the region’s proximity to multiple state lines has complicated enforcement efforts.
A Borderland Under Scrutiny
In a stretch of villages clustered within a 15- to 20-kilometer radius near Mathura’s border, law enforcement officials say a pattern had become difficult to ignore.
The settlements lie close to Rajasthan, about five kilometers away, and Haryana, roughly 15 kilometers from the area under investigation. According to the police, the proximity to multiple state borders has allowed suspects to move quickly across jurisdictions, complicating efforts to track and apprehend them.
Over several months, officers received repeated complaints of cyber fraud traced to the Shergarh area. Investigators linked a series of online scams to villages near the state boundaries, where authorities now believe organized groups were operating.
As cases accumulated, the region acquired a new moniker: “Mini Jamtara,” a reference to Jharkhand’s Jamtara district, widely associated with organized cyber fraud. Officials said the name reflects the frequency with which digital extortion, phishing attempts, fraudulent calls and online scams were traced back to the area. Victims, they said, were located across India and abroad. Further investigation, police added, remains underway.
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A Pre-Dawn Sweep
On Sunday, Mathura police carried out what they described as a large-scale coordinated operation targeting suspected cyber fraudsters in villages near Shergarh.
More than 240 police personnel, led by Suresh Chandra Rawat, the Superintendent of Police (Rural), mobilized early in the morning. Arriving in over 20 vehicles, teams surrounded Vishambhara and Jhanjhawali villages in an effort to prevent suspects from fleeing.
Police officials said panic spread among residents as officers entered the villages. Some individuals attempted to run; others hid in nearby fields. Officers pursued suspects, searched houses and detained several people for questioning.
The operation lasted around five hours. By its conclusion, police said they had detained 34 suspects and seized five vehicles. Mobile phones and motorcycles were also taken into custody during the raids. All detainees were brought to Shergarh police station for questioning.
Numbers Behind the Raids
The action followed an earlier operation on December 11, 2025, when around 400 police personnel conducted a 12-hour search in the same area. During that effort, officers identified 42 suspects and arrested 37.
In Sunday’s operation, authorities reported identifying dozens more. According to the police, approximately 45 suspects managed to escape during the raids.
The two teams deployed in the villages divided their efforts. In Vishambhara, the first team detained 23 individuals, though 28 others fled. In Jhanjhawali, the second team detained 11 people; 17 escaped.
Police said eight of those detained had previously been sent to jail. Two suspects are linked to more than 18 cyber fraud cases registered across different states, according to officials.
Authorities also reported seizing electronic devices believed to have been used in fraudulent activities. Investigators are examining the material as part of what they described as an ongoing effort to identify a broader network operating in the region.
A Growing Reputation
Law enforcement officials say cyber gangs operating from the villages have been involved in phishing schemes, fraudulent phone calls, online scams and digital extortion. The repeated complaints, coupled with the number of suspects identified in successive operations, have reinforced concerns that the area functions as a hub for such activities.
The nickname “Mini Jamtara,” police said, emerged after repeated cases originated from the cluster of villages near the Mathura border. Officials drew the comparison to Jharkhand’s Jamtara district because of its association with organized cyber fraud networks.
Investigations are continuing, including further interrogations of detainees and analysis of seized devices. Police officials indicated that the scale of operations in recent months reflects the breadth of complaints received and the cross-border challenges posed by the region’s geography.
For residents of the villages now under scrutiny, the label carries consequences beyond the immediate raids. For investigators, it marks a focal point in a broader campaign against cybercrime that stretches well beyond state lines.
