Almost every house of these Jharkhand villages has a cyber crook

Giridih, Deogarh, and Jamtara, three districts in the Indian state of Jharkhand have earned the moniker of cyber zones, not because they have transformed themselves with some digital revolution, but because they have thousands of cyber criminals in their households.

Binsmi village alone in the Giridih district has 900 cyber crooks, from some 1,000 households that it has.

The fact came into light recently after cyber cell officials of the Ahmedabad crime branch had to go to Binsmi to nab Mohammed Jilani Ansari, a cyber criminal who had cheated people across 15 states using a couple of cellphones.

The local police help told them that they were about to enter the "Cyber Zone" of Jharkhand.

"We had kept the operation top secret," a senior Ahmedabad police official told TNN. "However, when we were about to enter Binsmi village, a Jharkhand cop asked us whether we were looking for an online scamster, adding that he is not the only one in this cyber zone.

Local police is unable to control these criminals since no case is registered against them.

"They cheat people in other states," a cyber cell official said.

Another official added that the team was shocked to know almost every house in these areas has a cyber crook.

As per Jilani, the kingpin of the online fraud racket in Jharkhand is one Tiku Mandal, leader of a gang of about 14 cyber cheats. "He provides them SIM cards and transfers money from their e-wallets to his bank account. He then gives them cash after deducting his commission," a cyber cell official said.

Even after knowing the truth, it would be difficult to catch him since no one knows where he lives.

"He visits his gang members once a week to collect money and then vanishes," the crime branch official said, adding, "We are planning a major operation in Jharkhand to catch him."

(Image source Racolb Legal)