# Five from Bihar held for Rs 3.5 crore fertiliser franchise fraud 2026-08-21T21:06:16+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Adilabad police have arrested five men from Bihar for allegedly running an inter-state cybercrime gang that cheated people across India of nearly Rs 3.5 crore by promising fake fertiliser franchises and loans. The arrests were made in Nawada district's Barhi Bigha village with the help of around 150 Bihar police personnel, during which locals pelted stones at the police. The accused, identified as Abhishek Kumar, Ashutosh Kumar, Nishu Kumar, Ritesh Kumar and Abinash Kumar, were arrested after a complaint from A Ganesh, who was duped of Rs 3.85 lakh. The gang contacted victims via phone, WhatsApp and email, collected personal details like Aadhaar and PAN, and demanded money for franchise registration, licence and other fees before stopping all communication. Police seized 10 mobile phones and Rs 70,000 cash from the accused. They had created a fake website offering fertiliser franchises to lure victims. Further investigation is on to find more victims and possible links to other cyber fraud networks. ## Indian Opinion Analysis This case highlights a growing cyber fraud pattern where criminals exploit farmers' and small entrepreneurs' desperation for formal credit and franchises. India's fertiliser franchise sector is largely unregulated, making it easy to set up fake websites that mimic genuine companies. Victims often hesitate to report such frauds due to fear of social stigma or police apathy. The next step will be tracing the money trail through the 10 seized phones, which could reveal the scale of the network and whether it has political or local protection in Bihar. Watch for chargesheet filing in the Adilabad court within 60 days. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Straight crime report with police quotes and no editorial slant. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Adilabad Police, Akhil Mahajan, Bihar, cyber fraud, fertiliser franchise Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/five-from-bihar-held-for-rs-3-5-crore-fertiliser-franchise-fraud/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/five-from-bihar-held-for-rs-3-5-crore-fertiliser-franchise-fraud/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/