Bhopal: Baffled Cops Clueless As Cyber Scams Emerge Major Challenge

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The state capital is increasingly in the news as a growing hub for cyber and online trading scams. Over the past year, multiple interstate cyber fraud rackets operating from the city have been busted. However, most of these rackets were busted not by the local police but by cybercrime units of other states.

Investigations reveal that organised gangs in Bhopal have been duping thousands of gullible people across the country through fraudulent online trading schemes, fake job offers and social media reward scams.

Cyber police officials said that countrywide data of suspected cyber frauds, SIM cards and bank accounts uploaded on ‘Samanvay Portal’ or Joint Cyber Crime Coordination Team (JCCT) was being monitored regularly. The cyber crime branch used the data to identify local cyber crooks.

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The most startling revelation came in February this year when police raided a call centre in Aishbagh run by Afzal Khan and his daughter Sahiba. Since then, cyber units from Ambala, Kanpur and the Uttar Pradesh STF have swooped down on Bhopal to arrest gangs operating from the city.

The UP STF arrested three men from Bhopal linked to a fake social media task reward scam. In October last year, Kanpur cyber police nabbed four Bhopal-based fraudsters, accused of running a Rs 22 crore fraud across 20 states.

Even as police from across India track cyber criminals to Bhopal, the local cops are largely unaware of the extent of rackets being run under their nose.

Additional DCP Shailendra Singh Chauhan said an operation was launched in March this year to identify local persons involved in cyber frauds and relevant action was taken against them. However, harsh action could not be taken in the absence of local complaints against them.

“Data received through JCCT—information regarding mule bank accounts, fake SIM cards and cyber fraud suspects-- is being monitored closely and regular action is taken on its basis,” he said.

Cyber & online trading scams linked to Bhopal

• February 23, 2025 – Aishbagh call centre busted. Police raided a call centre in Aishbagh which was being run by mastermind Afzal Khan and his daughter Sahiba for 3 years. They duped over 1,200 victims across the country with promises of hefty returns in online share trading. The call centre was busted only after two employees complained of pending salaries.

• June 28, 2025 – UP STF arrests three from Bhopal. The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force arrested Shivansh Mishra (22), Ravi Singh (23), and Uma Shankar Tiwari (43) from Shahdol (Madhya Pradesh). The gang ran a fake social media task rewards scam, duping people through online “work-from-home” schemes.

• July 4, 2025 – Fake job racket busted. The Bhopal Crime Branch arrested Nabeel Siddiqui of Talaiya for duping around 80 unemployed youths, collecting nearly Rs 8 lakh by promising jobs in Amazon.

• August 18, 2025 – Ambala trading scam. The Ambala police arrested four men from Bhopal, Sheikh Arshil, Uwais Ullah, Shoaib Sheikh and Mohammad Zia Qureshi. They duped Rajiv Jain of Ambala of Rs 8.95 lakh in an online trading scam. Interrogation revealed that they were involved in the scam for the past many years.

• August 20, 2025 – Bank fraud exposed. A victim discovered that his documents, given to an insurance agent in 2021, were misused to open a bank account. The account is suspected to have been used for cyber fraud transactions.

• October 15, 2024 – Rs 22 crore trading scam linked to Bhopal busted in Kanpur. The Kanpur cyber police arrested Rohit Soni, a Bhopal resident along with three accomplices. The gang had duped over 250 victims across 20 states of Rs 22 crore via fake stock market investments.