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.”

New Delhi, Oct 27: Taking a serious note of an acid-attack on a 20-year-old woman in northwest Delhi, Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena on Monday directed Police Commissioner Satish Golcha to take strict action against the culprits.

“He has instructed the Commissioner of Police to ensure that the guilty are arrested and brought to the book at the earliest and the most stringent punishment under law is sought against them,” said a Raj Niwas official.

The official, in a post on X, said, “The LG has taken an extremely serious view of the recent unfortunate incident of acid attack in the Capital.”

The Sunday incident that caught the attention of the LG involved a 20-year-old woman who sustained burn injuries on her hands after being allegedly attacked with acid by her stalker and his two associates.

The incident took place near Laxmi Bai College in northwest Delhi’s Ashok Vihar area, according to police officials, who maintained that they have launched a manhunt for the accused after collecting clues from CCTV footage.

The victim, a second-year student at a private institution, was on her way to attend an extra class when the accused intercepted her near the college.

“She was stopped by the main accused, Jitender, and his two associates, Ishan and Arman, who were on a motorcycle,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh said in a statement.

According to the woman’s statement, Ishan handed a bottle to Arman, who threw the acid at her.

She instinctively raised her hands to shield her face, suffering burns on both hands while the attackers fled the scene immediately after the assault.

The injured woman was rushed to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital, where doctors provided initial treatment and informed the police.

A team of forensic and crime experts later visited the site to collect samples and evidence. Preliminary investigation suggests that the main accused, Jitender — a resident of Mukundpur, the same locality where the victim lives — had been stalking her for several months.

According to reports, the two had a heated argument about a month ago, following which the harassment reportedly escalated.

A case has been registered under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including those about acid attack and criminal conspiracy.

The incident has once again raised concerns over women’s safety and the easy availability of corrosive substances in the national capital.

The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) held protests outside the college, demanding the strictest punishment for the accused and concrete reforms to curb acid sales