LLB student held for siphoning off ₹2 lakh through mobile-link fraud, cash recovered

Noida/Muzaffarnagar — A 22-year-old LLB student from Noida was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly stealing ₹2 lakh from a Muzaffarnagar resident by sending a malicious mobile link and accessing his bank account. Police said the entire amount has been recovered.

The accused, Vishal Godara, originally from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, was traced and arrested by Bhopa police. According to SP (Rural) Aditya Bansal, Godara hacked the phone of Tausif Ahmed, a farmer from Bakar Nagar village, and withdrew money from his bank account. CCTV footage also captured him taking out cash from an ATM.

During the raid, police seized a laptop, three mobile phones, 20 ATM cards, seven passbooks, six cheque books and several SIM cards. Officers believe he was part of a well-organised cyber fraud network, and they are checking possible links to Chinese cyber syndicates. Police are also working to identify others involved in the interstate and international racket.

Ahmed told police that after his phone was hacked, his bank account was emptied and he was later blackmailed using threats related to his photos and videos. Apart from the money taken from his own account, additional funds were transferred from his friends’ accounts, bringing the total amount stolen to ₹2 lakh. A case has been filed under several sections of the law, including Section 308 (extortion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

During questioning, Godara revealed that he had been working with a cyber fraud network for about a year. He said he bought dummy bank accounts for ₹8,000–10,000 each and used them to move fraudulent money. The cash was withdrawn using ATMs or cheques and later converted into cryptocurrency, which he sold via social media. He also claimed that some linked digital wallets belonged to individuals in China.

Police said further investigation is underway to uncover his associates and the network’s full operations.