Gujarat Police Bust Cyber Gang Running Fake Bank Accounts; Five Arrested
Police said that the network of cyber gangs allegedly originated in Surat and extended to Ajmer in Rajasthan and Dubai.
Published : March 1, 2026 at 2:31 PM IST
Surat: Gujarat Police claimed to have busted a major cyber gang that opened bank accounts in the name of ordinary people and supplied data to cybercriminals. The network allegedly originated in Surat and extended to Ajmer in Rajasthan and Dubai.
Officials said that at least five persons, including a QR code expert, a textile merchant, and a jeweller, had also been arrested in connection with the cyber fraud.
“The probe into cyber fraud intensified after suspicious transactions totalling over Rs 11 crore (approximately $1.1 billion) were discovered in 35 accounts belonging to the accused,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Surat City Nidhi Thakur.
The police also recovered two books from the accused, titled Psychology of Money and Message of Culture in the Ramayana. The suspects allegedly used these books to conceal used or blocked ATM cards by pasting the cards inside, disguising them as a means of imparting religious and financial knowledge.
“After the arrest of the mastermind, Bhavik alias Prince Srivastava, it was revealed that bank items like passbooks, ATM and SIM cards were being couriered from Surat to Ajmer,” Thakur said.
To trap the gang, they prepared a “dummy parcel” and sent it to an address in Ajmer. “As soon as another accused, Surendra alias Balkishan, arrived in Ajmer to collect the parcel, we apprehended him as we were keeping an eye on him. His hideout was raided, and another accomplice, Govind Siddh, was also arrested", according to the DCP.
Police identified the arrested accused as Bhavik, alias Prince Srivastava (29), a resident of Katargam, who worked as a QR code expert and data transfer; Ravi Gabani (41), a diamond artisan from Singapore, who managed account kits; Tarun Rathod (44), a textile merchant, who managed bank accounts; Surendra, alias Balkishan (25), a resident of Rajasthan, who received parcels in Ajmer; and Govind Siddh (21), who operated a cyber control room from a rented house in Ajmer.
The probe revealed that Ravi and Tarun, currently lodged in Gujarat’s Lajpore jail, collected accounts from the ground level. These account kits were sent to Ajmer, from where cybercriminals based in Dubai operated these accounts and earned crores of rupees.
“We seized valuables from the scene, including 21 mobile phones, 33 SIM cards, 88 ATM cards, and 36 passbooks,” said the DCP Surat.
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