Jaipur, Oct 27: In a major breakthrough, the Jhalawar Police in Rajasthan have busted an interstate cybercrime network that infiltrated several central and state government welfare portals, including the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Jan Aadhaar, Raj SSP (Social Security Pension), and the Disaster Management Department’s DMIS portal.

Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar said that the crackdown codenamed “Operation Shutdown” has led to the arrest of six accused and detention of two others across Delhi, Punjab, and multiple districts of Rajasthan, including Jaipur, Bharatpur, Dausa, and Jodhpur. Police have so far frozen Rs 1 crore across 11,000 suspicious bank accounts linked to the gang.

SP Kumar said the gang was involved in large-scale financial fraud worth crores by exploiting loopholes in government welfare schemes.

“This was an organised and well-connected interstate gang operating at both the state and national levels,” he said.

SP Kumar said that during the operation, which began on October 22, police recovered Rs 53 lakh in cash, note-counting machines, thousands of chequebooks, passbooks, and ATM cards, along with 35 laptops, 70 mobile phones, and data related to over 11,000 bank accounts.

“Luxury vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, and tractors, used by the accused were also seized,” SP Kumar said.

He said that among those arrested are Mohammad Laiq (Jaipur), identified as the State Nodal Operator of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, accused of creating unauthorised IDs using his official credentials and performing illegal land seeding for ineligible beneficiaries.

“Subhash (Delhi) provided land seeding data for fake beneficiaries in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Mohammad Shahid Khan (Bharatpur) is a former Land Development Bank employee who aided in fraudulent activations. Rohit Kumar and Sandeep Sharma (Jalandhar, Punjab) designed and managed clone websites resembling government portals. Sunant Sharma has been identified as the main handler of the gang,” he said.

SP Kumar said that two others, including Ramesh Chand (Phalodi Collectorate employee) and Bhag Chand (Dausa), were detained for facilitating bulk registrations and enrolling the highest number of ineligible beneficiaries in Jhalawar district.

“The gang exploited dormant or inactive registrations of ineligible beneficiaries. Data collected from rural agents was routed to operators like Laiq, who used official credentials to generate unauthorised nodal IDs at night. These IDs were used to bypass OTPs and reactivate accounts for ineligible beneficiaries, siphoning government funds overnight before deleting or disabling the login IDs by morning,” he said.

SP Kumar said that in the DMIS portal, criminals abused vulnerabilities in the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS).

“They accessed 1,500 SSO IDs and official emails — from collectorates to patwaris — to divert compensation funds meant for farmers into fake accounts. Forensic analysis of seized devices revealed sophisticated cyber tools used to bypass Aadhaar verification and gain access to e-Mitra Plus systems,” he said.

SP Kumar added that police have also recovered thousands of Pension Payment Orders (PPOs) and account details from social security schemes.

“Suspicious fund transfers were detected for over 17,000 beneficiaries in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Sikar, indicating widespread data theft and manipulation. To dismantle the network, a six-member Special Task Force (STF) was constituted under Jhalawar Police, with support from cyber forensics units and intelligence agencies across multiple states,” he said.

He further pointed out that authorities say the investigation is ongoing, with more arrests likely as data analysis and inter-state coordination continue.

Mumbai: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a visit to Mumbai today. During his visit, the foundation stone of the new office of Maharashtra BJP in Mumbai was laid by the Union Home Minister. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior BJP leaders were present for this event.

Speaking at the foundation stone ceremony of the BJP office, Amit Shah commented on various issues in Maharashtra. Amit Shah also said that today is an auspicious day for the workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the BJP office is no less than a temple for our workers.

“Today is an auspicious day for all the workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Because today the foundation stone of the Maharashtra BJP office has been laid. From today, the Maharashtra BJP is making a new beginning. From the time the BJP was founded until today, 2025, everyone from every BJP worker to all the leaders knows that the office is a temple for us. For all the other parties, the office will be an office. But for every BJP worker, the BJP office is no less than a temple,” said Amit Shah in a speech.

“Since the formation of the Jan Sangh till today, we have always accepted the idea of ​​running a political party. We have always based our policy on principles. We have always fought for the welfare of the people of India. Now no one can deny that the Bharatiya Janata Party is a strong signature in the political arena of Maharashtra as well. Therefore, today on the occasion of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the party’s state office, I wish the workers all the best,” said Amit Shah.

“The Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party office has a library, six meeting rooms, a conference hall, a grand auditorium with 400 seats, an office for the party’s state president and an office for the Chief Minister. Not only this, arrangements have also been made in the office for some workers to stay,” said Amit Shah in his speech.

He also stated that, “BJP offices are a symbol of service and public welfare. Maharashtra is doing the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new BJP office in Mumbai. I am doing the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Maharashtra BJP office in Mumbai.”

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the launch of the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 states and union territories. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar made the announcement during a press conference in New Delhi on Monday.

While several states are set to begin the voter list update, Maharashtra has not been included in this phase. The revision exercise will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

The ECI’s Special Intensive Revision is aimed at ensuring the accuracy of voter lists, particularly before upcoming elections in key states. Officials said the process will include verifying new voter registrations, removing duplicate entries, and updating address or constituency changes to maintain transparency in the electoral process.

The announcement comes as several states prepare for major Assembly elections, including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry. The move is seen as part of the Commission’s efforts to ensure readiness ahead of the polls. “Today we are here regarding the rollout of the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision. I extend my greetings to the voters of Bihar and bow before the 7.5 crore voters who took part in a successful SIR,” said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.