MSP Payment Fraud Busted: Four Arrested for Manipulating Punjab’s Anaaj Kharid Portal
Chandigarh, January 9
Punjab Police’s State Cybercrime Division has uncovered a Minimum Support Price (MSP) payment fraud, arresting four individuals for manipulating the Anaaj Kharid Portal to illegally divert crop payments from farmers to their own bank accounts. This operation was conducted under the direction of DGP Punjab Gaurav Yadav, announced ADGP Cybercrime Division V Neeraja.
The arrested individuals are Manish, Jasvir Singh, Angrej Singh, and Balwinder Singh. Police also seized digital devices and routers used to commit the fraud.
ADGP Neeraja explained that the accused used a sophisticated method, replacing farmers’ mobile numbers with their own to fraudulently update bank account information and divert payments. To avoid detection, they would restore the original details immediately after processing the payments. A statewide operation is underway to apprehend other individuals involved in the scam.
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The investigation began after a complaint from the Food and Civil Supplies Department, Punjab, revealed that some farmers had not received payments for crops sold during the 2024 paddy season. Verification confirmed that these payments had been credited to various unauthorized bank accounts.
Preliminary investigations, including scrutiny of IP records and bank account information, revealed unauthorized access to the Anaaj Kharid Portal and the diversion of funds. Investigators discovered that a mobile number and device purchased with a fake ID in SAS Nagar district were used to obtain OTPs for altering farmers’ bank accounts on the portal. The group operated from remote areas of Sri Muktsar Sahib, using a dedicated internet connection for unauthorized portal access and altering bank records.
ADGP Neeraja stated that three Cybercrime Division teams, led by Inspectors Jujhar Singh and Deepak Bhatia, and SI Ranjit, used open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques to locate and arrest the four individuals in Moga and Sri Muktsar Sahib districts.
Further questioning is ongoing to identify other involved parties, including potential collusion with Mandi Board or Food Supply Department officials and commission agents who may have shared sensitive information or knowledge of technical vulnerabilities in the Anaaj Kharid portal. Raids are continuing to arrest the remaining suspects.
A case (FIR) has been registered under sections 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 338, and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act at the State Cyber Crime Police Station, Punjab.
