In a significant breakthrough, the State Cyber Crime Division has arrested the main accused running a fake website impersonating the Mining Department of the Punjab Government.
The main accused, Gaurav Kumar, has been arrested for cloning the Punjab Govt’s mining portal. He issued fraudulent permits for illegal mining, causing a loss of ₹40-50 lakh to the state. The accused, in connivance with a mining businessman, generated 2000+ fake receipts using QR/barcodes to bypass security checks.
The modus operandi involved generating and issuing fake mining forms, accused spoofed the official website, to facilitate the movement of vehicles engaged in illegal mining, causing substantial losses to the state exchequer.
FIR registered, and further investigation is underway to uncover the full nexus! The website backup, along with data containing details of fake receipts, images of vehicles, mining material sources and destinations, and the computer systems used in the offense, has been recovered.
Punjab Police remains committed to safeguarding digital platforms and taking strict action against cyber fraudsters. Our Cyber Crime Punjab team works around the clock to protect citizens from online scams and financial crimes.
