The Uttarakhand Police Special Task Force has conducted a widespread enforcement drive against the financial and telecom infrastructure supporting cybercrime syndicates across the state, dismantling an organized network linked to more than 200 mule bank accounts. Under the week-long initiative named Operation Hotspot, authorities verified 820 suspicious bank accounts, blocked hundreds of communication assets, and arrested more than a dozen individuals involved in systematic financial fraud.
Major Arrests and Infrastructure Disruption in Haridwar
The most significant operational breakthrough occurred in Haridwar, where the Shyampur police took five alleged operatives of the Nawada group into custody. The syndicate is suspected of laundering proceeds derived from fraudulent online trading setups, fraudulent loan schemes, and fraudulent investment plans promising doubled returns. Searches conducted during the apprehension yielded over 45 ATM cards, 20 bank passbooks, two laptops, and 17 mobile phones from the suspects.
Investigators established that proceeds from these cyber frauds were directed straight into designated mule accounts. Operatives withdrew the illicit balances from automated teller machines and, in several instances, deposited the funds back into secondary accounts using cash deposit machines. Police stated that cycling the capital through numerous layers and accounts served to obscure the origin of the funds and hide the ultimate beneficiaries behind the operation.
Statewide Action Against Banking and Telecom Conduits
The enforcement drive focused heavily on disabling the operational utilities that enable digital crime rings. Between August 24 and September 1, police verified 820 suspected bank accounts, resulting in the registration of 159 First Information Reports. Inquiries into cash withdrawal patterns covered 1,236 suspicious ATM locations and 84 cheque withdrawal points, each yielding 37 First Information Reports.
Parallel enforcement targeted digital communication channels, resulting in the blocking of 644 suspect SIM cards and 630 IMEI numbers. Police checked 22 suspected point-of-sale vendors selling SIM cards, leading to 10 additional First Information Reports as authorities examine whether compromised verification and customer onboarding systems were manipulated to supply telephone lines to cyber syndicates. A review of 240 profiled cyber suspects through the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre Samanvaya platform revealed more than 100 links to cases registered in other states.
Expanded Crackdown Across Hotspot Districts
Police revealed that responses to 18,749 cybercrime complaints filed through the 1930 helpline and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal saved or protected roughly ₹23.44 crore during 2026. Authorities emphasized that immediate reporting remains critical in preventing stolen funds from being dispersed into secondary account networks before freezes can be enacted.
Following the initial outcomes, Uttarakhand Police widened the operation on September 3, deploying approximately 2,000 personnel across designated hotspots in Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Nainital. More than 300 individuals have been detained for questioning and verification as investigators examine recovered devices, transaction ledgers, and bank records to map out the interstate links directing the 200 mule accounts.
