One held for hacking cricketer VVS Laxman's bank account

The Bidhannagar Police arrested one Sheikh Izazul for hacking the bank account of former cricketer V V S Laxman and siphoning off Rs 10 lakh. Laxman’s account is based out of a private bank in Hyderabad, his home town.

According to sources, Izazul siphoned off the money and transferred the amount to a nationalised bank at Salt Lake in Kolkata, where he holds an account. The Salt Lake police started investigating the matter after they were informed by the Andhra Pradesh (AP) Police that the hacker’s digital footprint has been traced back to an internet protocol address in Kolkata and the money to a bank at Salt Lake.

According to the police, Izazul has an account with a bank at Salt Lake’s AE Block branch, which recorded no transaction for a long time. On Wednesday, Rs 10 lakh was deposited into the account, which made the bank manager suspicious. 

After he informed the police, the Bidhannagar Police’s cyber cell took up the matter.
 Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, Bidhannagar Police received an e-mail from the Hyderabad Police about the amount being siphoned off from Laxman’s accountThey caught Izazul red-handed when he came to withdraw the money after the bank authorities requested him to come on some official work on the insistence of the police.

 Deputy Commissioner (Detective Department) Arnab Ghosh of Bidhannagar police said they have sufficient evidence to prove the money was transferred from Laxman’s account. 

Officers said they will probe the case further and check into Izazul’s antecedents, since he comes from Kaliachawk in Malda district of north Bengal, which is a major route for fake currency from Bangladesh.

According to senior officers, the job is the handiwork of an inter-state net banking fraud group which is actively involved in hacking and other related rackets. 

While the local police have informed the AP Police about the recent developments, Ghosh said: “We are holding meetings with banks at regular intervals so that they are encouraged to call the police if they get suspicious about certain transactions or accounts. These meetings seem to have been fruitful.”