Jaipur: The cybercrime cell of Churu district police on Sunday uncovered cyberfraud involving Rs 8.50 crore at the district excise department office and arrested four people, including a clerk of the department and three liquor contractors. Police also recovered Rs 4.50 crore of the siphoned amount.
The fraud came to light when an excise inspector lodged a complaint at Sardarshahar police station in Churu on Oct 1. The report detailed how an unidentified person gained unauthorised access to the excise department's software and manipulated license holders' wallets and caused a massive revenue loss.
"There was a loophole in the software that the accused exploited. The clerk needed only the district excise officer's login details to transfer money," said Subhash Chandra, SHO of the Cyber Cell.
The unauthorised transfers occurred in 2023 and 2024. "They were discovered during a recent audit, following which the FIR was registered, and the investigation was handed over to the Cyber Police Station," added Chandra
A special team of cops analysed around 4 crore IP addresses to trace the culprits behind the fraud. The investigation led to the arrest of Ajay Kumar Jat, a 32-year-old senior assistant in the district excise department office. Three liquor contractors—Vikas Yadav, 33, from Rampura Beri in Hamirwas; Rajkumar Jat, 35, from Birami Khalsa in Sidhmukh; and Narendra Singh, 31, from Nauseriya in Ratangarh, Churu—were also arrested.
Churu SP Jai Yadav said efforts are underway to identify other people who may have been involved in the scheme.
The four arrested men were produced in court, which remanded them to five days of police custody. tnn