Delhi Cyber Police bust mule bank account racket, arrest 4 in ₹2.47 lakh courier scam
Synopsis
Delhi's Cyber Police cracked a layered mule account supply chain behind a ₹2.47 lakh courier scam — arresting four men across three states who allegedly bought, sold and handed off a Nainital Bank account through Telegram to enable OTP-forwarding fraud on a Delhi Transco executive.
Key Takeaways
Four persons arrested by Cyber Police Station, North-East District, Delhi in connection with a ₹2.47 lakh courier delivery fraud.
Accused identified as Md.
Arbaz Daniyal alias Labbu (20) , Jimmy Bathla (41) , Abdul Wadood (27) , and Aniket Verma (25) .
Victim Satender , DGM at Delhi Transco Limited , was duped via OTP-forwarding after a fake courier call activated call diversion on his phone. ₹80,000 of the cheated amount was traced to a Nainital Bank account; the mule account was allegedly sold in layers for up to ₹1 lakh .
Raids conducted in Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand) , Lucknow , Mirzapur , and Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) ; four mobile phones seized.
Police are investigating links to a larger interstate cyber fraud syndicate operating via Telegram .
The Cyber Police Station of North-East District, Delhi, has dismantled a mule bank account racket and arrested four persons in connection with a cyber fraud case in which a victim was cheated of ₹2.47 lakh through a fake courier delivery scam. The arrests, made across multiple states, have exposed what police describe as a well-organised interstate network that procures and supplies mule accounts to launder proceeds of online fraud.
How the Fraud Was Carried Out
According to police, the complainant — Satender, a resident of Babarpur, North-East Delhi and Deputy General Manager (DGM) at Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) — received a call from a fraudster posing as a courier executive regarding an undelivered parcel. The caller allegedly persuaded him to dial a specific number and activate call and message forwarding on his mobile phone. This diverted all incoming calls and SMSs, including banking OTPs, to numbers controlled by the fraudsters, who then withdrew ₹2.47 lakh from his bank account. A case was registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) vide e-FIR No. 00194/2026 dated 16 June 2026 at the Cyber Police Station, North-East District.
The Accused and Their Roles
The four arrested accused have been identified as Md. Arbaz Daniyal alias Labbu (20), Jimmy Bathla (41), Abdul Wadood (27), and Aniket Verma (25). Investigators traced ₹80,000 of the cheated amount to a Nainital Bank account held by Md. Arbaz Daniyal. During interrogation, police said Arbaz disclosed he had opened the account on the instructions of Jimmy Bathla in exchange for ₹50,000. Bathla allegedly handed the account over to Abdul Wadood for ₹1 lakh. Wadood then reportedly supplied the account details to Aniket Verma, who passed them on to cyber fraudsters operating through Telegram for use in online financial crimes.
Raids Across Multiple States
A dedicated police team conducted raids in Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand and in Lucknow, Mirzapur, and Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Four mobile phones — one recovered from each accused — were seized during the operation. Analysis of the seized devices reportedly revealed transaction details linked to the alleged cyber fraud network.
Larger Syndicate Under the Scanner
'Investigation has exposed a well-organised network engaged in procuring and supplying mule bank accounts to cyber fraudsters for laundering cheated money,' Delhi Police said. The arrests have generated leads into a broader interstate cyber fraud syndicate. Investigators are now working to identify additional members, trace further fraudulent transactions, and recover the remaining proceeds of crime. Further investigation in the case is underway.
This comes amid a sharp nationwide rise in courier-pretext and OTP-forwarding scams, which have increasingly targeted salaried professionals and government employees. The mule account supply chain — where accounts are bought and sold in layers before reaching the end fraudster — has emerged as a key enabler of such operations.
Point of View
Making arrests at the mule level necessary but insufficient. Delhi Police's multi-state sweep is operationally creditable, but the Telegram angle points to an encrypted distribution layer that local raids alone cannot dismantle. Until platforms cooperate more actively with Indian law enforcement on account-linked fraud, the supply of mule accounts will outpace the pace of arrests.
NationPress
14 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a mule bank account and how was it used in this case?
A mule bank account is a legitimate bank account opened or sold by one person for use by fraudsters to receive and transfer stolen money, obscuring the money trail. In this case, a Nainital Bank account was allegedly opened by Md. Arbaz Daniyal, sold through intermediaries, and ultimately handed to cyber fraudsters via Telegram to receive ₹80,000 of the ₹2.47 lakh cheated from the victim.
How did the courier delivery scam work?
The fraudster called the victim posing as a courier executive and persuaded him to activate call and message forwarding on his phone. This diverted banking OTPs to numbers controlled by the fraudsters, who then withdrew ₹2.47 lakh from his account without his knowledge.
Who are the four persons arrested by Delhi Cyber Police?
The four accused are Md. Arbaz Daniyal alias Labbu (20), Jimmy Bathla (41), Abdul Wadood (27), and Aniket Verma (25). Each allegedly played a distinct role in procuring, selling, and supplying the mule bank account to cyber fraudsters.
Where were the arrests made?
The arrests were made across multiple locations — Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand, and Lucknow, Mirzapur, and Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh — following coordinated raids by a dedicated Delhi Police team.
Is the investigation ongoing?
Yes, further investigation is underway. Police are working to identify additional members of the larger interstate cyber fraud syndicate, trace more fraudulent transactions, and recover the remaining proceeds of crime.
