Prayagraj: The Prayagraj Cyber Cell has arrested Ayush Awasthi, 29, a key operator of an inter-state gang involved in digital arrest fraud.
Police recovered ₹64.61 lakh from his possession, including insurance policies worth around ₹40 lakh and ₹24.61 lakh in cash. Two mobile phones and a cheque book were also seized from him. According to police, a woman from Georgetown received a WhatsApp call from cyber fraudsters on August 26.
The callers allegedly posed as an employee of a courier company and a cyber police officer. They told her that a parcel containing narcotics and linked to her Aadhaar card had been intercepted. The fraudsters allegedly threatened her with legal action and kept her under “digital arrest”, demanding that she transfer ₹1.78 crore to different bank accounts to avoid further action.
Following the woman’s complaint, a case was registered at the Prayagraj Cyber Crime Police Station on October 1 under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. During the investigation, police examined the KYC details and fund flow of bank accounts allegedly used in the fraud. Call detail records and customer application form data were also analysed.
The investigation led police to a bank account allegedly used for routing proceeds of the fraud. The account was in the name of Ayush Awasthi, a resident of Sikandrabad village under Neemgaon police station in Lakhimpur Kheri district. Police arrested him from his village on October 4.
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During questioning, Awasthi allegedly told investigators that he ran a labour supply firm linked to a private bank. Its operations had stopped after he completed a two-month assignment in Mumbai under a tender associated with a Gujarat-based company. Police said that in November 2025, he met Rajan Shukla of Puranpur through Nishant Trivedi, a fellow villager. Shukla allegedly offered him a 10% commission for routing proceeds of cyber fraud through his bank account.
According to police, Awasthi, Nishant Trivedi and Rajan Shukla travelled to Mumbai on September 6. They allegedly facilitated the transfer of around ₹48.50 lakh from the complainant’s account on September 7 and 8. Analysis of bank statements indicated that the accused and their associates may have used a similar modus operandi to target people in Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Around ₹3.80 crore was allegedly routed through multiple accounts as part of the layering of the funds.
Police have contacted authorities in the concerned states through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and inter-state coordination mechanisms. An inter-state coordination team has been formed to investigate the wider network and identify other people allegedly involved in the operation.
Investigators are examining the movement of money between different bank accounts and the communication links between the accused and their associates. Police are also trying to determine how many people were involved in the alleged digital arrest network and how the proceeds from different victims were routed.
According to police, Nishant Trivedi and Rajan Shukla are currently absconding. Three teams have been formed to trace and arrest them. Further evidence is being collected to establish the role of other suspects and identify additional accounts allegedly used to transfer or layer the fraud proceeds.
The cash, insurance policies, mobile phones and banking documents recovered from Awasthi have been taken into the investigation. Further legal proceedings are underway, while investigators continue to examine the financial transactions and the alleged interstate network behind the digital arrest fraud.
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