In a major breakthrough, the Cyber Crime and Economic Offences (CC & EO) police have arrested two alleged members of the notorious inter-state Jammatara cyber fraud syndicate from Balangir district.
The duo — identified as Ayush Pandey and Harekrishna Kuamar — were actively operating in western Odisha and supplying sensitive personal and banking data of innocent Odias to cyber criminals.
According to police, the arrested duo were deeply linked with the infamous Jammatara gang of Jharkhand, a group well-known across India for orchestrating sophisticated digital frauds. The accused allegedly hacked or illegally obtained citizens’ personal information, Aadhaar details, and bank account credentials, then sold these “EPIC files” to bigger fraud networks.
In one specific case, they sent a fake RTO (Regional Transport Office) e-challan through a mobile app to a victim and cheated him of ₹7 lakh. The modus operandi involved creating panic by showing a fictitious traffic violation notice, prompting the victim to transfer money urgently.
The arrests were made following sustained technical surveillance and intelligence gathering by the Bhubaneswar Cyber Crime Police. Both accused were reportedly active in Balangir and were using local networks to facilitate the data trade and financial frauds.“We have cracked a vital node of the Jammatara network operating in Odisha. The accused were not only selling data but were also directly involved in executing frauds,” a senior police officer said.
The Cyber Crime police have registered a case under relevant sections of the IT Act and Indian Penal Code. While the two have been arrested, the hunt for the main masterminds hiding outside the state is underway. Authorities have appealed to citizens to remain vigilant against unsolicited challans, OTP requests, and suspicious links.
