Chandigarh, Jan 9 Punjab Police’s State Cybercrime Division has unearthed a minimum support price (MSP) payment fraud with the arrest of four accused involved in manipulating the Anaaj Kharid Portal to divert crop payments from farmers to their own bank accounts, Additional Director General of Police V. Neeraja said here on Thursday.
Those arrested have been identified as Manish, Jasvir Singh, Angrej Singh, and Balwinder Singh.
Police teams have also recovered digital devices and routers used by them to commit the fraud.
ADGP Neeraja said the accused used an innovative modus operandi to divert the payment of crops to the farmers to their accounts fraudulently by replacing the mobile numbers of farmers with their mobile numbers and thereafter using them to update the bank account information of the farmers.
To avoid detection, the accused would restore the original details immediately after the payment was processed, she said, adding the state-wide operation is being conducted to nab the other accused.
As per information, a complaint was received from the Food and Civil Supplies Department, in which it had come to light that some farmers have not received the payment for selling their crops during the 2024 paddy season.
Further verification revealed that the payment of these farmers has been credited to various bank accounts belonging to different people.
The ADGP said during the preliminary inquiry, IP records and other data were scrutinised and information regarding the bank accounts revealed the details regarding the unauthorised access of the Anaaj Kharid Portal and the diversion of the crop payment in different accounts.
During the investigation, it was also revealed that a mobile number and a mobile device was purchased from the Mohali district on a fake identity, which was used to obtain OTPs for altering the bank accounts of farmers on Anaaj Kharid Portal and the gang was running their operation from remote areas of Muktsar Sahib.
An internet connection was also installed for unauthorised access to the portal and altering the bank records of the farmers.
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