Puducherry Police Bust ₹90-Crore Cyber Fraud Run From Engineering College

Puducherry’s Cyber Crime Police have uncovered a massive ₹90-crore cyber scam allegedly run from inside an engineering college—turning the campus into what investigators describe as a “hub for cyber crime.” The racket came to light after students started selling bank accounts of friends and classmates to fraudsters, who then laundered the money across India and eventually converted it into cryptocurrency through networks in Dubai and China.

The investigation began when two engineering students, Dinesh and Jayapratap, approached the police after their bank accounts were unexpectedly frozen. They told officers that they had shared their account details with their friend Harish—now one of the accused—who had collected more than 20 bank accounts from students and unsuspecting members of the public. These accounts were used as “mule accounts” to park scam money. Police say at least ₹7 crore was siphoned through these accounts.

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

One of the key suspects, Ganesan, is believed to have coordinated directly with cyber-criminals in China. Authorities say he helped convert the stolen money into cryptocurrency and transferred it via Telegram, earning commissions in the process.

Puducherry’s Senior Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime), Nithya Radhakrishnan, IPS, said the arrests are a major step not only in catching the “mules” but also those who enable international cyber-fraud networks. “We have been able to apprehend those who were laundering money for cyber-criminals, not just the account holders. This shows how organised and international these networks have become,” she said.

The police have once again urged the public to never share their bank credentials, ATM cards or online banking information with anyone—even friends—as it can lead to severe legal and financial consequences.

News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.