Sitaram Mandal alias Rajkumar Mandal from Jamtara, one of the poorest districts in Jharkhand, had a life of contrasting details.
A 23 years old high school graduate owns a house worth Rs 15 lakhs, drives around in a premium sports utility vehicle and happens to be an self-made cyber expert. The latter half of his bio-data reads that he is a notorious cyber criminal wanted in several states, was arrested by Jamtara police last Sunday and is presently in jail.
Mandal was arrested from his ancestral village Sindurjori in Karmatand after joint efforts from Jamtara and Karmatand police. He was booked for cases of cyber fraud in various cities of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Delhi.
“Sitaram used to operate from Jamtara and neighbouring districts within 90km to 95 km radius. He had taken his activities as far as Mumbai,” informed Jamtara Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Singh.
Talking about Sitaram’s modus operandi, Singh said, “He used to call on several mobile numbers in numerical order and ask them for crucial financial details required for an online financial transaction. As soon as a victim took the bait, he would transfer all their money to an e-wallet account created using a 45-day old e-mail which he used to acquire in exchange of some payments.”
After arrest, Sitaram has neither disclosed the names of his associates and the sum of money that he appropriated during his several years of criminal activities. He is known to acquire crores of rupees during his criminal career, according to sources.
“Although the exact amount cannot be ascertained he had told us about his properties, which gives us an inkling of the money he had gathered through cyber crimes. Sitaram has also confessed to losing Rs four lakhs gambling. The money cannot be recovered though,” Singh said.