West Bengal Police’s cybercrime wing has uncovered a major “digital arrest” fraud racket and arrested a lawyer accused of operating a mule bank account linked to cyber fraud cases across multiple states.
The accused, identified as Tapas Manna, was allegedly running the operation from a hotel in Lucknow while managing fraudulent financial transactions through a bank account in Jangipur, Murshidabad. Investigators said the account received money from victims involved in at least 41 cyber fraud complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
Police officials revealed that nearly ₹3.85 crore in suspicious transactions has been traced through a mule account opened under the name “Vivekananda Welfare Trust”. Authorities said the account has already surfaced in 10 FIRs registered across the country over suspicious financial activities.
Investigators also found electronic evidence indicating that several “digital arrest” scam calls made to victims originated from Cambodia and Myanmar. Out of the 41 reported complaints, at least 3 cases were registered in West Bengal, including incidents in Bidhannagar and Madhyamgram. The total amount lost in these 3 Bengal cases was around ₹25 lakh.
The investigation began after intelligence inputs from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs flagged suspicious financial transactions connected to complaints filed on the NCRP platform. Based on the findings, the officer in charge of the NCRP Cell under the West Bengal Cyber Crime Wing filed a suo motu complaint at Madhyamgram Police Station. A formal case was registered on November 4, 2025.
During the probe, police traced the fraud money trail to a private bank account operated through the Jangipur branch in Murshidabad. “The account is suspected to have been used for routing and laundering money generated through ‘digital arrest’ cyber fraud schemes,” said an officer from the cybercrime wing.
Manna, who allegedly identified himself as the secretary of “Vivekananda Welfare Trust”, was questioned multiple times before being arrested on Thursday after reportedly failing to explain the source of the deposited funds.
According to investigators, he allegedly played an active role in managing the fraudulent account and coordinating with members of an organised interstate cyber fraud network.
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