The Rs 3,000 Crore Cyber Crime Network: How Haryana's Nuh District Became India's Digital Fraud Epicenter

Over 1,000 mule bank accounts were utilized to channel fraudulent funds across a sophisticated criminal network.

A concerning network of criminal activities, fraud operations, and potential terror financing has emerged at the intersection of Haryana's Nuh district and Madhya Pradesh. Nuh district, situated in southeastern Haryana, has historically struggled with unemployment, inadequate policing infrastructure, and socio-economic challenges. However, in recent years, it has transformed into India's most dangerous cyber crime epicenter, surpassing Jamtara with greater reach, sophistication, and risk factors.

Earlier this year, Madhya Pradesh police uncovered the state's largest cyber crime operation to date, valued at more than Rs 3,000 crore. As investigations progressed, it became evident that the operation's masterminds were based in Nuh rather than Madhya Pradesh. Many were school dropouts in their early twenties who managed a highly effective digital criminal enterprise from a Gurugram apartment. This illegal call center functioned as the control hub for nationwide cyber crimes, making fraudulent calls related to employment scams, investment schemes, cryptocurrency trading, and impersonation of law enforcement officials on a daily basis.

The Haryana-Madhya Pradesh cyber crime connection is particularly alarming. More than 1,000 mule bank accounts, primarily belonging to impoverished villagers from the Vindhya and Mahakoshal regions, were exploited to channel fraudulent money. Account holders were deceived with promises of government scheme benefits, while their accounts became conduits for laundering crores of rupees.

In less than two years, over Rs 3,000 crore moved through these accounts in complex patterns, routed to cities across India and frequently transferred abroad. Investigators have confirmed significant amounts eventually reached the Middle East. Whether these transfers were exclusively related to cyber fraud or connected to more sinister activities like religious funding, hawala networks, or terrorism financing remains under investigation.

Alongside these mule accounts, hundreds of SIM cards were procured from Madhya Pradesh through a secondary network of operatives. These SIMs traveled from Madhya Pradesh to Patna, where intermediaries packaged and transported them to the masterminds in Nuh. The SIM cards became fundamental to the cyber crime calls targeting thousands of Indians. The Nuh operators also controlled shell companies in Hyderabad and parts of Maharashtra, through which illicit funds were circulated to conceal their origins. Every aspect of this criminal operation—recruitment, SIM procurement, mule account management, and fund routing—ultimately connected back to Nuh.

SP Pranay Nagwanshi, who leads Madhya Pradesh's Cyber Cell, recalled when the operation's scale began to emerge: "A large number of fake SIM cards were being sold in Jabalpur, Katni, Rewa, Sidhi, Satna and surrounding areas. When we launched an operation last month, we discovered new centers in Damoh, Dindori, Shivpuri, Gwalior and even around Indore."

The evidence was clear: Madhya Pradesh was being exploited as a supplier of resources for one of India's largest criminal networks.

The complicity extended deeper than just local agents. "In some cases, bank employees were involved in opening accounts. Many mule accounts were opened through their references. We have taken action against them too," Nagwanshi stated.

Villagers with minimal understanding of digital systems found themselves implicated in transactions worth crores. Their accounts were often rented for as little as Rs 5,000 monthly. "Sometimes the rent increased to Rs 10,000 if people realized their accounts were being misused," Nagwanshi explained, adding, "But the amounts were never substantial enough to consider them part of the network. They were simply exploited for commission."

The consequences have been devastating, with the state experiencing an unprecedented surge in cyber crime cases.

In Indore, a retired medical officer was kept under "digital arrest" for a month, threatened by callers impersonating TRAI officials and even a Supreme Court judge. Terrified, the victim transferred Rs 4.32 crore—his entire life savings—to accounts controlled by the fraudsters.

In Bhopal, a 67-year-old retired bank manager and his wife were terrorized by criminals posing as police officers, who claimed their bank accounts had funded terrorists involved in Delhi bomb blasts. The couple was confined to their home for 24 hours under the criminals' instructions, during which the fraudsters stole Rs 67 lakh.

Another disturbing case emerged in Katni, where a doctor was threatened by someone impersonating an NIA officer, claiming the doctor was connected to the Red Fort bombing. The fraud was halted only when the victim's son recognized the deception and alerted cyber police.

Authorities acknowledged how national tragedies become tools for criminals. "Since the Delhi bombings and the Jammu and Kashmir incident, threats of this nature have increased," Nagwanshi noted. "Cybercriminals exploit every new development. They weaponize fear instantly, using it to intimidate and extort people."

Investigators were further shocked to discover that thousands of crores had moved through a network of mule accounts connected to shell companies across Hyderabad and Maharashtra. "A key finding was that many of these accounts were used to establish shell companies, and substantial amounts of money were being transferred or deposited in these companies' names," Nagwanshi reported.

The human toll reached a tragic climax when 68-year-old senior advocate Shivkumar Verma died by suicide in Bhopal after receiving a call claiming a fake bank account in his name was funding terrorists in Pahalgam. In his final note, he wrote that he couldn't bear the stigma of being labeled a traitor. His death exposed the horrifying psychological violence inherent in cyber crime.

According to figures presented in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, the situation is deteriorating rapidly. From May 2021 to July 2025, over Rs 1,054 crore was stolen from Madhya Pradesh residents through cyber fraud, while police have recovered less than one percent—Rs 19.4 million.

Additionally, more than four lakh cyber-crime complaints were filed annually from 2020 to 2022. Of the 13 cases registered during this period, only 585 reached the chargesheet stage, while hundreds remain pending.

MLA Jaivardhan Singh, who raised the issue in the Assembly, said the figures reflect a concerning lack of preparedness. "This is extremely serious," he stated, adding, "Over one thousand crore rupees were stolen from Madhya Pradesh, and the recovery is negligible. The police lack both the resources and the seriousness to address cyber fraud."

Amid this crisis, the state's cyber cell has arrested over 25 individuals connected to the interstate cyber network, all of whom have been charged. However, authorities believe they've only scratched the surface. The actual masterminds controlling the entire operation remain in Nuh.

Cyber crime police have acknowledged that Nuh, along with adjoining areas of Rajasthan, has become India's leading cyber crime hub, surpassing established centers like Jamtara.

They emphasized that years of crackdowns in Jharkhand and West Bengal pushed cyber crime networks to migrate to new regions, particularly Nuh, with its combination of mobility, anonymity, and existing criminal networks.

As Madhya Pradesh confronts this digital onslaught, a larger question emerges for national security agencies: If funds from mule accounts were routed to foreign destinations, if the same networks appear in both cyber fraud and terror financing investigations, and if Nuh serves as a common point for extremist modules and financial crime, is India witnessing the evolution of a cyber-terror corridor?