JAIPUR: In a breakthrough against cybercrime, Rajasthan Police Saturday arrested six youths and seized a tractor along with Rs 19.6 lakh in cash from the tribal region of Banswara district.
Nayan Patidar, 18-year-old son of a farmer, was mastermind of a gang operating to lure tribal people into making online payments for accessing premium pornographic content. He had maintained the facade of a dutiful son and used some of the illegal money to gift his father a tractor.
All the accused are between 18 and 22 years and belong to different villages of Banswara. Police also seized 10 mobile phones, 14 SIM cards, 5 ATM cards and a chequebook linked to the crime.
‘Nayan’s porn site looked professional’
Banswara superintendent of police Harsh V Agarwalla said, Nayan had created and operated a professional-looking porn website that promised explicit content.
The sites were advertised on search engines and encouraged users to register and pay nominal fees to access premium content. The payment process was a cleverly orchestrated scam, Agarwalla said.
The district police had formed special teams under its ‘Cyber Shield Campaign‘ to crack down on cybercriminals in the area. “We received complaints from people who had been duped through the porn sites. Following investigation, we apprehended Nayan on Jan 10,” the SP said. During interrogation, Nayan gave out names of his accomplices. They were subsequently arrested, he added.
