Noida: Leader conspired to hack Nainital bank server
Noida: Noida Police has achieved a major breakthrough in the Nainital Bank server hacking case. The mastermind of the cyber attack has been arrested. The brain behind the hacking has been identified as Harsh Bansal, president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) of Dadri. The police have currently detained Harsh Bansal, while his brother Shubham Bansal is being searched. Shubham Bansal is a chartered accountant and is believed to be involved in the crime. Officials have sealed the office of Bansal brothers in Ghaziabad and are investigating transactions worth more than Rs 30 crore related to the fraud. This fraud involving hacking of the RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) channel led to a loss of more than Rs 16 crore to Nainital Bank in June.
The bank reported the incident in July, after which the Noida Cyber Crime Cell of Uttar Pradesh Police started the investigation. According to ACP Cyber Crime Vivek Ranjan Rai, the Bansal brothers and their associates ran a business of laundering black money through fake companies. Their firm B Shubham & Associates located in Ghaziabad’s Loha Mandi is under investigation for transactions worth more than Rs 30 crore. During the investigation, it was found that the work of transferring money from one account to another was done by Shubham Bansal. The information about transferring money to other bank accounts and how many people are involved in this case will be known only after Shubham’s arrest. When asked about Harsh Bansal, Yuva Morcha district president Gajendra Mavi said that he has been expelled from the party during the 2023 municipal elections due to anti-party activities, although a formal expulsion letter has not been issued. Yuva Morcha regional president Sukhwinder Som said that he is not aware of the case, but he will seek a report from the local organization. The investigation has revealed that Rs 99 lakh was withdrawn from Nainital Bank through a fake firm, while additional transactions of Rs 16 crore were made through other fake accounts. Officials are gathering clues about other fake companies and persons involved. Three teams are currently engaged in searching for the remaining suspects. Police have also added sections 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code in the case. Earlier on July 10, a case was registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under Section 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the IPC and Section 66C (fraudulently or dishonestly using electronic signature) of the IT Act.
