Dehradun, Sept. 4 -- The Uttarakhand Police have busted multiple cyber fraud syndicates, arresting 15 accused individuals, registering over 238 FIRs, and blocking hundreds of telecom resources during a coordinated statewide drive named "Operation Hotspot," officials said on Thursday. Under the operation, police conducted an extensive statewide crackdown on cybercrime networks, targeting not only fraudsters but also people and entities allegedly providing bank accounts, SIM cards, devices and other resources used to facilitate online fraud. The week-long intensive enforcement phase, which ran from August 24 to September 1, focused on dismantling the foundational supply chains of cyber syndicates, targeting money mules, ATM cash withdrawal points, suspect bank accounts, and fraudulent point-of-sale (POS) SIM card vendors. Additional director general of police (Crime and Law & Order), V Murugesan in a press conference in Dehradun, said that the Special Task Force (STF), relied on months of deep technical analysis in the statewide operation against those providing resources and help to cyber criminals. "From July 1 to July 31, police teams pored over digital, telecom, and banking trails provided by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Using the real-time GIS-based PRATIBIMB mapping tool, investigators pinned down suspect coordinates across Uttarakhand where fraudulent transactions, illicit cash withdrawals, and suspicious device activations were concentrated", he said He said that during the seven-day field operation, police teams verified 820 suspect bank accounts, resulting in 159 FIRs. "Police zeroed in on 1,236 ATM withdrawal locations used to break digital paper trails, leading to 32 FIRs, while verification at 84 cheque withdrawal hubs led to 37 cases. Simultaneously, law enforcement struck the telecom pipeline, blocking 644 suspect SIM cards and 630 IMEI numbers, alongside registering 10 FIRs against 22 rogue SIM-POS vendors accused of issuing numbers using fake or manipulated KYC documents", he said. He said in total, 442 suspicious cases were investigated, 15 cyber criminals were arrested, and formal legal notices were served on 247 individuals. Murugesan said among the key breakthroughs was the busting of the notorious "Nawada Group" by the Shyampur police in Haridwar. "Police arrested five individuals linked to more than 200 primary 'Layer-01' mule accounts used to funnel proceeds from fake investment schemes, online trading scams, and fraudulent loan applications. Police also recovered 45 ATM cards, 20 bank passbooks, two laptops, and 17 mobile phones from the gang. The accused allegedly withdrew fraud funds at local ATMs and immediately redeposited the cash via Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs) into separate accounts to obscure financial trails. One linked operative was nabbed in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, while follow-up teams are tracking down interstate handlers based in Nawada, Bihar", he said. In another operation, Pathri police in Haridwar arrested two operatives working as cash-out runners. They reportedly withdrew illicit funds through ATMs in exchange for a 5% cut, he said. He added that Kotdwar police arrested an absconding fraudster, Ashish Richard, in connection with a major forex trading scam run through a firm named Quantum Capital. Richard, who had been evading arrest without using mobile devices, was tied to eight bank accounts that had routed approximately Rs.1.5 crore in cyber proceeds, with Rs.7 lakh successfully frozen. Police also found he is named in 19 separate cyber complaints across states. He said the enforcement drive also leveraged the I4C Samanvaya portal to cross-examine 240 previously arrested cyber suspects, uncovering their linkages to more than 100 cases registered across other states. "To streamline inter-state cooperation, Uttarakhand Police sent 303 notices under Section 35(3) of the BNSS using the Cyber Investigation Assistance Request (CIAR) platform, while executing 247 incoming CIAR notices on behalf of other state forces", he said. He said capitalising on the momentum, police authorities launched an expanded field drive across identified high-risk zones in Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Nainital districts on Thursday. The operation mobilised around 2,000 personnel, including four Additional SPs, 10 DSPs, 20 SHOs, 132 Sub-Inspectors, and eight companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), leading to the detention and questioning of over 300 additional suspects, he said....