Assam STF arrested six people in Guwahati over an alleged financial fraud network linked to Pakistan Intelligence Operatives.
Investigators suspect the syndicate used mule bank accounts to route fraudulent transactions, causing losses of several crores over two years.
The STF is tracing the money trail and examining alleged links to Pakistan-based operatives and other members of the network.
Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested six people in Guwahati for their alleged involvement in a financial fraud network linked to Pakistan Intelligence Operatives. The syndicate allegedly used mule bank accounts to route fraudulent transactions across the country and cheated victims of several crores of rupees over the past two years.
The STF launched the investigation following intelligence inputs from Gajraj Military Intelligence, Tezpur, Assam Police said. The case began with an online fraud complaint lodged in Sonitpur district last month before being transferred to the STF, reported Hindustan Times.
Investigators are now tracing the money trail, identifying other members of the network and examining its alleged links to Pakistan-based operatives. The arrests come weeks after another espionage case was reported in Assam.
How The Probe Began
A complaint about online financial fraud was lodged in Sonitpur district last month and subsequently handed over to the STF for further investigation, Assam Police said.
The probe led investigators to a bank account held by Marjina Begum, 28, a resident of Guwahati. They found that the account had received several lakh rupees within a short period between June 22 and August 5, 2026. Police said withdrawals were made almost immediately after each deposit, raising suspicion.
Three Arrested In Initial Operation
The STF launched an operation on October 28 and arrested Marjina Begum, Mofijul Haque, 22, and Himangshu Das, 19. Haque and Das are also residents of Guwahati.
Preliminary findings indicated that their activities were linked to a Pakistan Intelligence Operative, the STF said. Officers recovered mobile phones and documents from the accused.
During questioning, Haque and Das allegedly disclosed the names of other people linked to the racket, leading investigators to widen the probe.
Three More Arrested
Acting on information obtained during interrogation, the STF arrested three more people in follow-up operations.
They were identified as Rakib Hussain, 34, Iftar Hussain, 25, and Arman Aziz Hoque, 20. Rakib, a resident of Ganesh Bagar, was arrested on October 29, while Iftar, from Uzanbazar, and Arman, from Ananda Bagar, were arrested on October 30. All three are residents of Guwahati.
The STF also seized mobile phones, laptops, electronic gadgets, bank passbooks, ATM cards and other documents during the operations. Guwahati City Police assisted the STF in the raids, Assam Police said.
Wider Network Under Investigation
The investigation so far indicates that the alleged fraud syndicate had been operating in different parts of the country for around two years. The STF said it used multiple mule bank accounts to carry out fraudulent transactions, with victims allegedly losing several crores of rupees.
Investigators suspect that the alleged mastermind was coordinating the network from outside Assam. The STF is continuing its investigation to identify and arrest other members, trace the funds and detect additional mule bank accounts.
The agency is also examining the nature and extent of the alleged links with Pakistan-based intelligence operatives and whether other anti-national elements were involved.
The investigation comes weeks after the STF arrested two people in a separate espionage case in Assam. On October 4, a Bihar resident and a retired Indian Army personnel were arrested in Guwahati for allegedly sharing information about Army movements with a Pakistan Intelligence Operative.
At a press conference, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “He, along with the other person, was sharing all the updates regarding Indian Army’s movements here.” He added that both accused had allegedly been honey-trapped by a Pakistani operative through an online platform.
The Bihar resident was identified as Abhishek Kumar Singh, 31. He was arrested from a rented house in Gandhinagar under Satgaon police station during an operation in the intervening night of October 3 and 4.
On October 5, the STF arrested another Bihar resident, Ritesh Kumar Singh, 39, from the same rented house. Police said both were allegedly involved in espionage-related activities, including passing secret information concerning security forces to the Pakistani operative.
Police did not disclose the nature of the information allegedly shared or how it was transmitted. The identity of the retired Army personnel was also not made public.
