177 cases, 312 arrests in a year: How a ‘mini Jamtara’ took shape in Mathura’s villages
Over the last few years, police say Mathura has emerged as a major hub of organised cyber fraud, with a large network recruiting locals and operating from these villages.
Policemen chase the accused across fields and narrow lanes in Imam Khan village, Mathura, last month. (Express Photo) On the morning of July 7, eight Mathura villages woke up to a strange sight – hundreds of people scampering across fields and narrow lanes as policemen and drones chased them.
“When the police teams arrived, several people fled,” one senior police officer told The Indian Express. “After long hours of questioning, 42 people – all adults – were arrested.”
The coordinated pre-dawn raids were part of a police crackdown on the growing network of cybercrimes in Mathura. Investigators claim that over the last few years, Mathura has emerged as a major cybercrime hub, with a large network recruiting locals and operating from these villages, earning the district the moniker “Mini Jamtara”.
So far, the police claim to have registered 177 cyber fraud cases over the past year, and 312 suspects have been arrested.
The latest crackdown has been driven largely by digital leads generated through the Ministry of Home Affairs’ cybercrime platforms, including the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and the Samanvay Portal, with investigators saying some 7,000 mobile phone numbers and 1,400 bank accounts have been traced to these villages.
Police said those arrested ranged from alleged masterminds to recruited operatives, reflecting what police describe as a highly organised network with cells across India. The suspects allegedly ranged in age from 16 to 65 years.
The latest raids come three years after a report by the Future Crime Research Foundation, an IIT Kanpur-incubated startup, showed that Rajasthan’s Bharatpur and Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura have replaced Jharkhand’s Jamtara and Haryana’s Nuh as the top cybercrime hubs in India. According to the study, Bharatpur (18%), Mathura (12%), Nuh (11%), Deoghar, Jharkhand (10%), Jamtara, Jharkhand (9.6%), Gurugram (8.1%), Alwar, Rajasthan (5.1%), Bokaro, Jharkhand (2.4%), Karmatand, Jharkhand (2.4%) and Giridih, Jharkhand (2.3%) are the top contributors to cybercrime cases in India, collectively accounting for 80% of the incidence.
Mini Jamtara: Inside Mathura's Organised Cyber Fraud Network
| Hub | State | Share of Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Bharatpur | Rajasthan |
|
| Mathura | Uttar Pradesh |
|
| Nuh | Haryana |
|
| Deoghar | Jharkhand |
|
| Jamtara | Jharkhand |
|
| Gurugram | Haryana |
|
| Alwar | Rajasthan |
|
| Bokaro | Jharkhand |
|
| Karmatand | Jharkhand |
|
| Giridih | Jharkhand |
|
The police claimed to have “significantly disrupted cyber fraud networks” operating in the district.
“Raids continue to be carried out based on cybercrime complaints and intelligence inputs. The operations have considerably reduced the scale of the networks,” Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar said.
Another officer added: “The scale of the operation is so extensive that its full size is difficult to estimate. The operations function like small-scale industries, with young people increasingly turning to cybercrime instead of pursuing education or conventional jobs, attracted by the prospect of easy money without physical labour.”
The emerging hub
Investigators claim to have mapped 18 villages under the Govardhan, Barsana, Shergarh, Chhata and Kosi police stations, which they believe serve as operational bases for an organised online scam network.
Police carried out a raid in Deoseras village last month. (Express Photo)
Most of these villages are nestled along the borders of Rajasthan and Haryana – two states that, according to the 2023 study, are major cybercrime hubs. Mathura Police claim that the proximity to at least three of these hubs – Bharatpur (40 km away), Nuh (107 km) and Alwar (111 km) – has contributed to the problem.
While releasing the 2023 study, FCRF cofounder Harshvardhan Singh said an analysis of the top 10 cybercrime hubs in India revealed several common factors behind their vulnerability, including geographical proximity to major urban centres, limited cybersecurity infrastructure, economic challenges and low digital literacy.
Most of these villages are about 70 km from Mathura city, three hours from Delhi and an hour from Agra.
Investigators claim that, of the 312 arrested in raids over the past year, many already have records on the centralised cybercrime Samanvay Portal. They also say that in several cases, mobile phone numbers and bank accounts had already been linked to multiple cyber fraud complaints on the NCRP portal, as well as FIRs registered in several states and districts.
“Most of the suspects have not completed high school and come from farming families with small ancestral landholdings. Many are believed to have turned to online scams as their primary source of income,” one officer says. “Many suspects belonged to criminal groups that had allegedly shifted their methods over time—from highway robberies and con jobs, or tatlu baazi that targeted Mathura’s pilgrims, to organised cyber fraud operations targeting victims nationwide.”
Modus operandi
According to the police, cybercrime networks operate through well-defined cells across India, with groups handling specific roles and getting a fixed share of the proceeds.
Typically, one group is allegedly responsible for logistics—arranging mule accounts, SIM cards and forged ATM cards—another scouts for targets and makes phone calls, while a third makes the withdrawals. The fraud ranges from using online marketplaces such as OLX to identify targets and steal money through QR code payment tricks, fake advance deposits and impersonation, to fake hotel bookings using cloned websites and phishing messages to trick people into paying for non-existent reservations.
The groups allegedly use encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram for logistical support.
In most cases, the fraud was allegedly conducted in fields, the open terrain allowing suspects to watch for approaching law enforcement vehicles. Investigators say the geography, combined with the proximity of two state borders, gives suspects opportunities to escape, highlighting the challenges authorities face in dismantling such networks.
Investigators claim suspects used publicly available platforms, including YouTube, Telegram, WhatsApp and online forums, to learn about digital tools and financial systems. Each group – from those actively involved to those offering their bank accounts as mule accounts – allegedly gets a predetermined share of the proceeds.
“They also learned from one another, adapting their methods through experience and sharing tactics within the networks,” one officer said. “The people who offer their bank accounts have no idea what it’s being used for.”
The July raids were part of an intensified police crackdown since last year and came after a series of similar actions. In December last year, for instance, police conducted 12-hour coordinated raids, arresting 37 people and seizing mobile phones, SIM cards, Aadhaar cards, digital devices and forged documents.
A large-scale operation involving 250 police personnel in February likewise resulted in 34 arrests. Police claim to have seized mobile phones, SIM cards, bank passbooks and other digital evidence they say is linked to cyber fraud complaints from multiple states.
Men arrested during the July raids. (Express Photo)
Investigators say information provided by victims—including suspects’ mobile phone numbers and transaction records—helped authorities identify alleged cybercrime hotspots and piece together the wider fraud network.
Why it persists
Police say the recovery of a large cache of items allegedly used in cyber fraud operations, including 137 mobile phones, two laptops, 42 debit cards, five bank passbooks, 12 cheque books and 50 SIM cards, points to the organised nature and scale of the alleged networks.
On why cyber fraud persists in Mathura despite repeated crackdowns, investigators claim that the networks constantly adapt, exploiting new technologies, communication platforms and financial channels to stay ahead of law enforcement.
The groups rely on fake identities, mule accounts, prepaid SIM cards and encrypted messaging services while continually changing their tactics and recruiting new members, making it difficult to estimate how many people are involved across the district.
Cyber fraud has become increasingly difficult to curb because it requires no physical contact between offenders and victims and can be carried out across state boundaries, one officer said. “A SIM card purchased in one state may be used to make fraudulent calls from another, while the proceeds are routed through bank accounts in a different state and later withdrawn from ATMs elsewhere, making the money trail complex to follow. The sheer volume of cybercrime complaints and the frequency with which new scams are carried out add to the challenge,” he said.
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