High school dropout arrest for role in Digital arrest Cyber fraud syndicate

Lucknow: On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh STF in Lucknow arrested a 40-year-old Madhya Pradesh high school dropout who oversaw account administration and financial layering for a significant "digital arrest" cyber fraud network. In order to extort money, the accused, Pradeep Soni of Vidisha, pretended to be police, drug, and criminal branch personnel.

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High school dropout arrest for role in Digital arrest Cyber fraud syndicate

Earlier this year, Soni conned Prof. Dr. BN Singh of Lucknow out of Rs 95 lakh. Gomtinagar Extension was where he was picked up. Two cell phones, PAN and Aadhaar cards, ATM cards, a driver's license, bank checks, SIM cards, and screenshots of several mule accounts used in the fraud were all retrieved by STF.Earlier this year, Soni conned Prof. Dr. BN Singh of Lucknow out of Rs 95 lakh. Gomtinagar Extension was where he was picked up. Two cell phones, PAN and Aadhaar cards, ATM cards, a driver's license, bank checks, SIM cards, and screenshots of several mule accounts used in the fraud were all retrieved by STF.

A man pretending to be a courier company employee called Dr. Singh on WhatsApp on April 6th, claiming that a "illegal parcel" had been scheduled in his name. A individual pretending to be a police officer then took over the call. After that, Singh received a video call from someone who issued him a fake RBI letter and warned him with repercussions. He transferred the Rs 95 lakh he was instructed to deposit "till verification ends" on April 8. He reported the fraud on the National Cyber Crime Portal after realizing it.

The account that was used to embezzle Singh's funds had transactions totaling more than Rs 1.4 crore, according to STF. Eleven bank accounts received 420 microtransactions totaling Rs 95 lakh. In July 2025, Mohammad and Shine Iqbal, two members of the gang, were taken into custody in Maharashtra.

Soni joined the group after leaving his work in Bhopal, according to additional SP, STF, Vishal Vikram Singh. He met Amit Kaithwas, also known as Ketu, and Rohit Lodhi, also known as Bittu, around Diwali 2024. They offered him money in exchange for setting up bank accounts on "rent" of Rs 10,000 per account and commission on incoming monies.

After that, he started gathering account kits from Vidisha, Bhopal, and Raisen, took out fraudulent funds from ATMs, and deposited money into accounts that were assigned to him. He used the fictitious aliases "Manohar" and "Sanju" to interact with the gang on WhatsApp.

According to STF, attempts are underway to locate the syndicate's surviving members.