New Delhi, June 19 : In a major breakthrough, the Delhi Police arrested three members of a pickpocket and cyber fraud gang that stole a mobile phone on a city bus and siphoned off over Rs 7.2 lakh by creating a fake UPI ID using the victim's Aadhaar details before heading for a pilgrimage to Dehradun, Haridwar and Kedarnath.

The incident dates back to May 24, when complainant Sukhbir Singh was returning home in bus number 835.

His phone was stolen by a group of pickpockets. Shockingly, four days later he discovered that Rs 7.2 lakh had been withdrawn fraudulently from his three bank accounts.

An e-FIR was registered as PS Najafgarh under Section 303(2) of the BNS.

The probe revealed that the accused accessed an Aadhaar card image stored in the victim's stolen mobile and used it to create a forged UPI ID, linking it to the victim's bank accounts.

The criminals then carried out multiple transactions using three linked accounts and a mobile number traced to a man named Shyam Kumar, who led the police to Shashank (26), residing in Dehradun.

According to Delhi Police, the accused made trips to Dehradun, Haridwar and Kedarnath with the stolen money withdrawn fraudulently from the victim's accounts.

Further interrogation of Shashank led to the arrest of a chain of accomplices - Janu, Ritesh, Kartikay - and eventually Aman (25) of Mohan Garden and Prince Yadav (20) of Nangloi, Delhi, who were identified as the main pickpockets.

A team led by Inspector Subhash Chand under ACP Mahesh Narayan, tracked the suspects across the national Capital, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand before nabbing the three prime accused.

Three more suspects - Danny, Ritik and Sumit are still at large. The arrested individuals have confessed to their roles in the crime during interrogation. Police have recovered crucial digital evidence and are continuing efforts to apprehend the three remaining accused.

Ankit Singh, IPS, DCP Dwarka district confirmed the arrests and assured that further investigation is underway in the case.

/IANS