The accused in police custody
The case emerged after a complaint by Shivam Kumar (23) who told police that two of the accused, Rajnish Verma alias Prabhakar and Shrikant Verma, induced him to obtain an Aadhaar card with a false address and later got six bank accounts opened in his name. The five arrested accused were identified as Shrikant Verma (22) of Gonda, Akash Maurya (20) of Basti, Ayush Pratap Singh (24) of Gonda, Rajnish Verma alias Prabhakar (25) of Balrampur and Deepak Singh Rathore (27) of Kanpur. Police records indicate Shrikant Verma was booked in a cybercrime case in Basti in 2025, while Akash Maurya was named in another case registered in Gonda the same year. Police said they seized seven mobile phones, 13 ATM cards of different banks, a forged Aadhaar card, two bank passbooks, a cheque book, eight document printouts, ₹4,450 in cash and the purported forged councillor’s seal.
Police said the gang recruited people from rural areas by promising quick earnings, brought them to Lucknow and arranged rented accommodation. Aashiana SHO Gajendra Kumar Rai said the accused allegedly retained control of ATM cards, cheque books, SIM numbers and internet banking credentials after the accounts were opened. This, police said, allowed the group to operate the accounts directly and transfer funds received from cybercrime victims. Police said each recruited person was allegedly used to open eight to 10 accounts, which were then operated as “mule accounts” to receive and disperse money across states.
During questioning, police identified Kartik as the alleged mastermind. Investigators suspect forged certificates were prepared using a counterfeit seal and fabricated letterhead purportedly in the name of ward councillor Mamta Rawat , and then used to create address proofs for bank account openings. A motorcycle allegedly used by the accused was also seized under the Motor Vehicles Act.
Lucknow: Aashiana police on Tuesday evening arrested five men near Devikheda crossing after an investigation uncovered what officers said was an organised network that allegedly opened and controlled multiple bank accounts using forged documents, including a counterfeit municipal councillor’s seal, to route money linked to cyber fraud .