Cyber Fraud Racket Busted in Puducherry Engineering College

The Puducherry Cyber Crime Police have exposed a major online fraud network run from inside an engineering college. The operation is linked to a scam worth around ₹90 crore. Students allegedly sold their own and their friends’ bank accounts to cyber-criminals, who later routed the money through India and converted it into cryptocurrency using contacts in Dubai and China.

The case came to light when two students, Dinesh and Jayapratap, found their bank accounts frozen. They had given their account details to another student, Harish, who had collected more than 20 accounts from students and others. These accounts were used as “mule accounts” to deposit and withdraw stolen money. Police say nearly ₹7 crore was moved through these accounts.

So far, seven people have been arrested, including four engineering graduates — Thomas alias Hayagriva, Harish, Ganesan, Govindaraj, Yashwin, Rahul and Ayyappan. Officers recovered ₹5 lakh in cash, 171 cheque books, 75 ATM cards, 20 mobile phones, laptops, computers, bank passbooks, credit cards and a Hyundai Verna car.

Investigators say Ganesan handled the link with cyber-criminals in China and helped convert large portions of the money into cryptocurrency using Telegram. He earned commissions for every transaction.

Nithya Radhakrishnan, IPS, Senior Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime), said the operation is a major breakthrough because it goes beyond just account holders and targets those who helped criminals move money. She stressed that sharing bank details with anyone can lead to serious legal trouble.

Police have urged the public not to share ATM cards, bank passbooks or online banking information and to never allow others to operate their accounts.