Bihar Police has flagged 1,09,475 suspected mule bank accounts holding a combined balance of ₹72.53 crore across all 38 districts, as part of its newly launched Cyber Prahar 5.0 campaign against digital financial fraud. The accounts are being targeted for legal action because investigators believe they are used by cybercrime networks to route proceeds from fraud.
Inspector General of Police Ranjit Kumar Mishra of the Cyber Crime and Security Unit disclosed the figures at a press conference at police headquarters in Sardar Patel Bhavan on Friday. Patna recorded the highest number of suspicious accounts at 14,644, followed by Gaya with 6,172 and Muzaffarpur with 4,244.
Other districts with high numbers included Bhagalpur, with 4,197 accounts; Nalanda, with 4,146; West Champaran, with 3,945; Siwan, with 3,859; Vaishali, with 3,441; and Aurangabad, with 3,326. The police said Nawada, Nalanda and Patna have consistently reported high levels of cyber fraud.
The announcement comes after the state’s performance during the earlier Cyber Prahar 4.0 and 4.1 drives. Bihar recorded 47,659 cybercrime complaints out of 5,69,160 complaints filed nationally during September and October. Fraudsters siphoned off ₹121.26 crore in the state during the period, according to the police figures cited at the briefing.
Police and banking interventions placed ₹36.94 crore on hold, equivalent to 30.46% of the amount reported stolen. Of this, ₹8.04 crore had been refunded to victims. Bihar’s freezing rate was higher than the national average of 28.35%, the cyber unit said.
Under Cyber Prahar 4.0, police identified 3,177 suspected mule accounts, registered 15 first information reports and arrested seven suspects. Notices were served to 448 individuals. During Cyber Prahar 4.1, another 1,226 mule accounts were flagged, resulting in 17 FIRs and 12 arrests, including six point-of-sale SIM card sellers.
The cyber unit also blocked 385 SIM cards and 442 mobile handsets. It removed 2,172 objectionable social media posts and helped secure the deletion of 549 social media accounts. To strengthen investigations, 278 police personnel received specialised cybercrime training.
The police have announced another cyber police station in Patna district. Public awareness efforts include printing the message “Call 1930 immediately in case of cyber fraud” on 20 lakh Sudha milk packets every day, with the message also scheduled to appear on electricity bills. Awareness jingles have been broadcast on FM radio, while digital campaigns have reached more than 18.6 lakh people.
A statewide hackathon involving 153 teams is also under way to develop technology-based solutions for cybercrime control. The final results are expected on November 28.
