Kaiserbagh Hotel Raid Busts Cyber-Fraud Cash Hub; ₹3.28 Crore Frozen
A hotel room in the Kaiserbagh area was being used as a collection and transfer point for cyber-fraud proceeds, police said after arresting two youths and taking four juveniles into custody. Investigators have also managed to freeze transactions worth ₹3.28 crore linked to cyber fraud in six State Bank of India accounts.
The arrests were made on Thursday by the Kaiserbagh police following a tip-off that a group staying in Room No. 101 of Ashirwad Hotel on Latouche Road was allegedly operating bank accounts used to receive and withdraw money generated through cyber crimes. Police said five people were found in the room during the raid. Four of them were juveniles, while the fifth was identified as Ritesh Singh (21), a resident of Gopalganj district in Bihar. Based on information obtained during questioning, police later arrested Prince Kushwaha (19), a resident of Kakori in Lucknow, who is suspected to be another member of the network.
In Short
- Kaiserbagh police raided Ashirwad Hotel (Room 101, Latouche Road) on Thursday and held two adults plus four juveniles.
- About ₹3.28 crore linked to cyber fraud was placed under debit freeze across six SBI mule accounts.
- Seizures included six ATM cards, five phones, a BharatPe machine, passbooks, ₹5,600 cash and a motorcycle.
How the mule-account chain worked
Police said the accused revealed that funds generated through cyber fraud were routed into “mule” bank accounts. The money was then withdrawn through ATM cards and deposited into other SBI accounts. The accused allegedly earned commissions for facilitating these transactions.
Reporting from the same bust describes a similar sequence: recruits were persuaded to open accounts that handlers later used as conduits, with cash pulled from ATMs and shifted into third-party SBI accounts to layer the trail. Investigators said the structure was meant to obscure primary beneficiaries while the group stayed in the hotel room to run the cash side of the operation.
City readers already tracking street crime and police follow-ups, including the Lucknow road rage incident that triggered a revenge attack and the UP STF arrest of a wanted criminal in Lucknow, will read this raid as another sign that money trails, not only street arrests, now decide how far a case travels.
What police seized and froze
During the search, police recovered six ATM cards of different banks, five mobile phones, a Jio SIM card, a BharatPe One card-swiping machine, two bank passbooks, ₹5,600 in cash, and a motorcycle allegedly used in the operation. A scrutiny of bank records and digital evidence revealed transactions linked to cyber fraud worth ₹3.28 crore, prompting police to place a hold or debit freeze on six SBI accounts.
The four juveniles were allegedly involved in handling funds and will be dealt with under the Juvenile Justice Act. That procedural line matters in Lucknow after the Allahabad High Court caution on juvenile arrests, which pressed police and magistrates to stay inside the statute when minors enter a crime case.
Police efforts, according to contemporaneous reporting, are focused on locating other absconding members of the syndicate, analysing transaction histories, and identifying network leaders directing the transfers. The adult suspects have been produced in court processes; the minors before the Juvenile Justice Board.
- Adults named in police accounts: Ritesh Singh (21, Gopalganj) and Prince Kushwaha (19, Kakori).
- Scene of raid: Ashirwad Hotel, Latouche Road, Kaiserbagh beat.
- Financial action: debit freeze on about ₹3.28 crore across six SBI accounts.
Why it matters
For Lucknow residents, mule-account hubs turn a distant online scam into a neighbourhood cash desk. A hotel room on Latouche Road, a Kakori accused, and a multi-crore freeze show how quickly fraud money can be parked inside ordinary city banking channels. Pending-case pressure already visible in the Lucknow police ACP directive to speed pending investigations makes the digital follow-through on this raid as important as the door-kick itself.
Sources: Times of India, The420.in
