Purnea: A young man from Purnea in Bihar, who became popular on Instagram with nearly one million followers, has been arrested for allegedly running a major cyber fraud operation. The accused, Rakesh Mandal, used his social media popularity to promote banned online gaming and casino apps. Police say he earned huge amounts of illegal money through these promotions and stored a large part of it in cryptocurrency. During the investigation, officials found digital assets worth about $194,000 in his crypto wallets, along with several electronic devices used to manage the operation.
The police registered an FIR against Rakesh under multiple sections of the IT Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Sections of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019, and the Indian Telecommunication Act have also been applied. According to Purnea additional superintendent of police Alok Ranjan, the accused had been promoting banned gaming platforms since 2024 by creating screen-recording reels and sharing them on Instagram and Telegram. These games included illegal casino-style apps and other platforms that are not permitted in India.
Investigators also found that Rakesh was not working alone. Money earned from cybercrime activities was reportedly transferred to the bank account of Rohan Kumar, a resident of East Champaran district, and later withdrawn in cash from ATMs to avoid being tracked. Police seized mobile phones, a MacBook and other digital equipment during the raid. These devices were allegedly used to create fake websites, manage Telegram channels and handle cryptocurrency transactions.
The case was exposed after a confidential report revealed a website that could provide personal information linked to Indian mobile numbers. Based on this input, a joint team of the STF Patna, the Economic Offences Unit and the cyber police in Purnea began an investigation. During questioning, Rakesh admitted that he invested money earned from promoting online games into cryptocurrency using digital wallets such as Trust Wallet. Police explained that cryptocurrency transactions are difficult to trace because they do not require traditional bank accounts.
Further investigation revealed the involvement of another youth, Raunak, who is believed to be Rakesh’s accomplice. Police claim the two were developing apps and sharing them through Telegram to earn more money. An app capable of accessing OTPs of mobile numbers was also recovered, raising serious concerns about data security. The duo were allegedly working on a fake cryptocurrency exchange app named “Kalk.fi” to cheat investors. Police say the investigation is ongoing and more people connected to the network may be arrested soon.
