# Three Arrested in Rajasthan for Opening Mule Accounts Under Guise of Welfare Schemes > Churu police have dismantled a fraud ring whose members posed as NGO workers and bank officials to open digital accounts in the name of rural citizens and sold them to cybercriminals. **Type:** article · **Category:** Rajasthan · **Published:** 2026-10-04 · **Source:** TrendKia **Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/rajasthan/rajasthan-men-sarakari-yojanaon-ki-ara-men-myula-bainka-khate-bechane-vale-tina-jalasaja-pakare-gae-42610 · **Language:** English **Tags:** Churu, Cyber Crime, Rajasthan Police, Mule Accounts, Fraud Ring, Airtel Payments Bank Law enforcement authorities in the Churu district of Rajasthan have cracked down on a syndicate engaged in opening digital bank accounts in the names of villagers under false pretenses and selling them to cybercriminals. Posing as social workers and bank representatives, the conspirators promised substantial welfare subsidies to obtain personal identification files from unsuspecting residents. Special investigators have taken three key suspects into custody, while pursuit of a fourth named associate continues. ## Luring Villagers Under the Pretext of Government Subsidies The perpetrators operated across remote settlements using a structured deception strategy. They visited rural households presenting themselves as representatives of an active non-governmental organisation. To gain the confidence of community members, they spoke about various official development initiatives related to solar energy installation, dairy projects, and goat farming, convincing residents that large financial grants were being made available by the state. Claiming that official assistance could only be disbursed through freshly created digital channels, they urged residents to permit the launch of new accounts. Trusting the promises, local citizens handed over their identity documentation and photographs. The gang then utilized these Know Your Customer papers to activate online current accounts with Airtel Payments Bank on the victims' behalf. ## Impersonation of Bank Executives To dismiss any lingering skepticism, members of the group routinely introduced themselves as the manager and assistant manager of Airtel Payments Bank. This assumed official stature allowed them to quickly dispel any suspicion among the villagers. Acting on evidence, investigators apprehended Jitendra Kumar Jain from Sujangarh, Ankit Jat of Udansar village in Fatehpur, and Kartik Jat from Mandela. A formal case also names Sethi Bhat of Chhapar, who remains at large and is currently being tracked by search teams. ## Retention of Banking Credentials to Facilitate Financial Crimes Once the online current accounts were operational, the operatives deliberately withheld passbooks, automated teller cards, and critical digital credentials from the nominal holders. By retaining absolute control over every access mechanism, the syndicate promptly handed these functional accounts over to distant cyber fraud networks. Online swindlers relied on these channels to route extortion money and launder illicit revenue, ensuring that if police tracked any suspicious trail, innocent village residents would appear as the primary suspects. ## Police Investigation and Rapid Apprehensions Superintendent of Police Nischay Prasad M stated that a resident named Megharam Luhar from Devani village approached authorities on September 29 after discovering the irregularity. Acting on the complaint, Churu Cyber Police Station registered a formal first information report on September 30, 2026, invoking sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita alongside the Information Technology Act. A specialized team headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar Meena was assigned to track digital clues, culminating in the apprehension of the three suspects. Police personnel Kamal Kumar, Sunil Kumar, and Rakesh Kumar played pivotal roles in tracking and detaining the trio. Initial interrogation revealed that the syndicate had facilitated the opening of hundreds of similar accounts spanning Chhapar, Fatehpur, Sujangarh, and neighboring villages. Investigators are presently focused on identifying the downstream cybercriminals who purchased these accounts and tracking down the absconding suspect. ## What this means for you This case highlights how sharing personal identification documents for purported government subsidies can make innocent citizens primary targets in cybercrime investigations. - **Across India:** Surrendering identity papers to unauthorized intermediaries can result in your credentials being used to set up mule accounts for financial crime. Never hand over documents for banking services outside verified financial institutions or authorized government desks. - **In Churu and Rajasthan:** Rural residents must demand proper identification before trusting individuals claiming to represent non-governmental bodies or digital banks. Anyone whose credentials were used to open an account without receiving passbooks or debit cards should approach the police immediately. - **Document Security:** Always verify why a digital current account is being requested when government schemes normally require simple savings accounts. Never permit another individual to retain your passbook, debit card, or mobile banking access. - **Legal Implications:** If illicit money passes through an account registered in your name, law enforcement agencies initially treat the nominal holder as a potential accomplice. Periodically check with banking institutions to confirm that no unapproved accounts are linked to your identity. ## Why this happened This illegal operation was enabled by exploiting rural citizens' limited familiarity with digital account verification alongside promises of large government subsidies. - **Immediate Cause:** The suspects created digital current accounts using villagers' documents under the pretext of subsidy disbursement and transferred operational control to cyber fraud networks for profit. - **Enabling Factors:** By posing as established NGO workers and bank branch managers, the accused gained community trust, prompting residents to hand over photographs and identification without suspicion. - **Method of Deception:** Withholding passbooks, debit cards, and login tools allowed the ring to route illicit money through these accounts while deflecting law enforcement attention onto innocent holders. - **Investigation Status:** Following a formal complaint by villager Megharam Luhar on September 29, police coordinated technical surveillance to capture three operatives while actively pursuing an absconding accomplice and account purchasers. ## Questions & Answers ### 1. Who are the individuals arrested by the Churu police in this fraud case? Police arrested Jitendra Kumar Jain of Sujangarh, Ankit Jat of Udansar, and Kartik Jat of Mandela, while Sethi Bhat remains absconding. ### 2. What false promises did the syndicate make to rural residents? They deceived villagers by promising substantial government financial subsidies for goat rearing, dairy farming, and solar energy installations. ### 3. With which bank did the accused establish accounts in the victims' names? The operatives opened online current accounts with Airtel Payments Bank using the villagers' Know Your Customer documents and photos. ### 4. Why were passbooks and debit cards withheld from the account holders? The gang retained all credentials to sell operational control of the active accounts to online fraudsters for routing illicit transactions. ### 5. Whose complaint led to the police investigation and arrests? The investigation was initiated after Megharam Luhar of Devani village filed a complaint on September 29, leading to an official case registered on September 30, 2026. --- _TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.. Machine-readable view; canonical HTML at the URL above._