New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Delhi Police has busted a cyber fraud racket and arrested three people involved in illegally extracting and selling UPSC study content on an instant messaging platform, officials said on Tuesday.
The action came following a complaint by Sunil Kumar, director of a UPSC coaching platform, who alleged that over 2,400 educational videos on his online coaching app had been unlawfully extracted and uploaded on the platform for sale, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia said in a statement.
Police said the complainant had launched his coaching platform around three years ago and currently caters to over four lakh students through social media and a dedicated mobile application launched in 2023. The app hosts more than 2,500 educational videos, including both paid and free courses.
Police said the complainant discovered on March 10 this year that a substantial portion of his copyrighted content had been leaked and was being sold on an online messaging application, causing significant financial and reputational losses.
A case was registered at the Cyber Police Station in North district, and a special team was formed to probe the matter.
During the investigation, police traced multiple IDs and linked mobile numbers, some of which were registered in Ethiopia and Bangladesh, suggesting the accused were attempting to conceal their identities through foreign virtual numbers.
Technical surveillance and analysis of IP logs led police to the arrest of Yuvraj Singh (21) from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh on June 5.
During questioning, Yuvraj allegedly confessed to extracting the study material using a bot and selling it to customers through Telegram channels while receiving payments in his bank accounts, police said.
Further investigation led police to Faridabad in Haryana, where Niranjan Kumar Mandal (23), allegedly the developer of the Telegram bot used for extraction, and Shubham Kumar Pandey (28), who allegedly provided logistical and internet support, were arrested on June 8.
Police said the accused used fake online messaging application IDs, forged credentials and anonymous digital wallets to avoid detection.
Investigators found multiple bank accounts and digital wallets linked to the accused, with transactions amounting to around Rs 35 lakh, indicating large-scale proceeds from the illegal sale of leaked educational content.
Police suspect the gang was also involved in pirating and distributing study material belonging to several other coaching institutes.
Four mobile phones, a laptop, four SIM cards, two passbooks, a debit card and a Wi-Fi router were recovered from their possession.
Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the racket and trace the wider network, police added. PTI SSJ SSJ AMJ AMJ
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