Odisha Police has reported substantial progress in its month-long special operation "Operation Cyber Kavach" to combat cybercrime and financial fraud.
The operation, which took place between February 13 and March 12, 2026, aimed to dismantle mule bank accounts and false SIM networks, which are at the heart of online scams.
Yogesh Bahadur Khurania, Director General of Police, stated during a news briefing that police have confirmed 39,714 mule bank accounts across the state. Investigations led to the arrest of 379 people, including those involved in mule accounts, fraudulent SIM cards, ATM withdrawals, and check fraud. Notices were sent to 7,549 suspected account holders and acquaintances.

The crackdown affected districts including Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Ganjam, Nuapada, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore, Bhadrak, Puri, Jajpur, and Dhenkanal. Police disrupted interstate gangs, seized SIM cards, ATM cards, and digital gadgets, and discovered hawala transactions and cryptocurrency fraud.
Key victories included the arrest of a Jharsuguda gang involved in a Rs 5.25 crore fraud, Sambalpur police smashing a Rs 1.3 crore mule account crime, and Cuttack police revealing a Rs 29.33 crore network. Bhubaneswar police busted a countrywide gang utilizing forged KYC and pre-activated SIM cards, seizing luxury automobiles and dozens of debit cards.
Khurania praised the coordination of the CID Crime Branch, banking nodal teams, communications providers, and data-driven intelligence from the Ministry of Home Affairs' I4C section.He commended district SPs, range IGs, and police for their efforts and recognized the media's contribution in raising cyber awareness.