A massive inter-state cybercrime syndicate targeting government welfare schemes in India was busted by police under an operation code-named “Shutterdown,” revealing one of the largest frauds of recent years involving over 36 arrests and millions siphoned off from government funds intended for farmers, pensioners, and low-income citizens.
The gang, which included government employees and technically skilled individuals, exploited structural vulnerabilities in official portals of welfare schemes such as PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Social Security Pension, and various compensation programs.
Sophisticated modus operandi
The perpetrators manipulated government databases, using unauthorized IDs to activate fraudulent accounts and reroute OTPs to agents, ensuring transactions remained undetected during operational hours.
Fake beneficiaries were created by purchasing bank account details and identity documents from ineligible persons, who were promised welfare funds in exchange for providing their credentials. Large sums were systematically withdrawn using forged identities and quick cash transactions, backed by real-time data manipulation on government digital platforms.
Scale and impact
Police investigations uncovered over 11,000 fake beneficiary accounts, with evidence of systematic syphoning through a web of financial activity stretching across districts such as Jodhpur, Kota, Bundi, Dausa, and beyond. The operation led to the seizure of more than ₹52 lakh in cash, luxury vehicles, hundreds of SIM cards, biometric devices, and documents linked to thousands of accounts.
Police credited the success of the crackdown to proactive citizen informants, technical surveillance, and coordination between state police and banking institutions, including immediate freezing of suspect accounts and deployment of forensic audit teams by leading banks.
Key masterminds and ongoing probe
The fraud’s mastermind, Ramavatar Saini, leveraged intimate knowledge of welfare portals to orchestrate the scam, aided by collaborators like Mohammad Laeeq (with access to nodal office systems) and Subhash (who sourced bulk data of ineligible beneficiaries).
Additional suspects from multiple states remain at large, with police announcing rewards for their capture. The breakthrough is expected to spark reforms addressing high-tech vulnerabilities in digital welfare delivery platforms and improve coordination for inter-state financial crime investigations.
Authorities have emphasized the need for urgent technical upgrades to official systems and more robust verification protocols to prevent future cyber-enabled misuse of welfare funds. Public vigilance, rapid intelligence sharing, and cross-agency collaboration played a vital role in uncovering the racket and containing its financial fallout.