Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested 75 alleged cybercriminals in 39 cybercrime cases as part of the ongoing ‘Cyber Vajra’ enforcement drive in Varanasi, an operation aimed at curbing online financial fraud and dismantling the wider networks that sustain it. A review of the campaign shows the crackdown has gone well beyond individual arrests, reaching deep into the banking and telecom infrastructure that cybercriminals rely on to move and launder stolen money.
Arrests, Seizures and a Widening Net
Police said 39 FIRs have been registered so far under the drive. Investigators seized 42 mobile phones, one laptop, two four-wheelers, approximately ₹1.40 lakh in cash, and other digital and electronic evidence from those arrested. Forensic teams are now analysing the seized devices to trace additional members of the networks behind the fraud.
The financial trail has proved just as significant as the arrests themselves. Police have frozen 480 bank accounts, blocking transactions worth close to ₹3.4 crore, while a further 854 suspected money mule accounts remain under active scrutiny. Investigators are verifying account holders, studying transaction patterns and tracing the source and movement of funds to establish whether these accounts were used to receive or launder proceeds of cyber fraud.
Targeting the Financial Backbone of Cybercrime
The operation has also blocked 145 IMEI numbers and 168 mobile numbers allegedly used in fraud activity, cutting off devices and connections that criminal networks depend on to operate at scale. Police said timely intervention prevented 300 people from falling victim to cyber fraud altogether, while ₹29.5 lakh has already been recovered and returned to affected victims.
The scope of cases covered under Cyber Vajra is broad, spanning interstate multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes, online betting syndicates, fake job offers, online trading and investment scams, money mule accounts, credit card fraud, fraud linked to dating and social apps, fake credit card APKs, OLX scams, bogus private-bank recruitment rackets, and cases involving Child Sexual Abuse Material.
Renowned cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said money mule accounts have become the financial backbone of organised cybercrime, allowing criminal proceeds to be layered and moved before victims or banks can react. He said identifying such accounts and dismantling the financial ecosystem that supports cybercriminals remains one of the most effective ways to disrupt fraud operations at their source. He also urged the public to never lend their bank accounts to others in exchange for commissions or other financial incentives, warning that doing so can expose account holders to criminal liability even when they were unaware of how the funds were used.
A Pattern Playing Out Nationally
Varanasi’s drive mirrors a broader shift in India’s anti-fraud strategy, from chasing individual scammers toward dismantling the banking layer that launders their proceeds. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre has flagged more than 2.47 million Layer-1 mule accounts nationally, and has partnered with the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub to deploy MuleHunter.ai, an AI-based system now operational across dozens of banks to flag suspicious account behaviour before losses mount. Similar mule-hunting operations have recently been reported in Gujarat, Karnataka and other states, suggesting Cyber Vajra is part of a coordinated national push rather than an isolated local initiative.
Police officials in Varanasi have directed field units to intensify action against money mule accounts and against those who open, operate or facilitate them. Authorities said the Cyber Vajra campaign will continue, with a sustained focus on mapping complete cybercrime networks and pursuing legal action against everyone involved, from small-time mule account holders to the syndicates that direct them.
