Bhubaneswar: Odisha Special Task Force (STF) has arrested one more accused in the inter-State mule bank account racket. This takes the total number of arrests made in the case to five. The accused, identified as Sourav Maity (30) was nabbed from Mohanpur in West Medinipur district of West Bengal two days back and brought to Bhubaneswar after getting four days' transit remand. He will be produced before the SDJM court here today.

Earlier, the STF had arrested four persons namely Sk Hapizul and Sk Jahangir from Raibania in Balasore district along with Sk Jamiruddin and  Samim Islam from West Bengal for running the scam.

As per the official release, the racket, headed by Sk Jamiruddin, was operating mainly in the tri-junction area of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal especially in districts of Balasore, Mayurbhanj, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, East Sighbhum, West Singhbhum and Saraikela.

He had employed around 10-15 people at the rate of Rs 15,000 per month to open bank accounts. These members visited various interior areas of these district targeting mainly poor villagers, tribals and persuade them to open the
bank accounts.

Villagers were generally offered Rs 2,000 per account for giving their documents and opening the bank accounts. However the mobile numbers linked with bank accounts were provided by gang members. The rate of Rs 2,000
per account differed depending on the bargaining or awareness level of the villager.

In turn, the gang than sell these bank accounts along with the connected mobile numbers to various Cyber, cyber-financial, sextortion scammers and other criminals based at Kolkata and other parts of India.

They also used social media platforms like WhatsApp group, Facebook, Telegram channel to sell the mule bank accounts at the rate of Rs 15-000-Rs 20,000 per account. Official sources said they have sold around five thousands mule bank accounts at different platforms.

It has also come to the notice that the scammers frequently change the bank accounts. Generally they abandon the bank accounts once it reaches a transaction of Rs one lakh. Sometimes the accounts get frozen even before that by
concerned banks on the request of police or law enforcement agencies, they informed.