Mathura Police Deploy Faith to Combat Cyber Fraud in Govardhan's Notorious Villages
In the cluster of 18 villages nestled in Govardhan, pressed firmly against the Rajasthan–Haryana border, the name Mohammad Shamim evokes a complex mixture of awe and amusement among local residents. To many admiring villagers, the smooth-talking octogenarian is celebrated as a 'harfan maula' — a veritable jack of all trades with a silver tongue. However, to the authorities in khaki, he is known simply as Shamim Tatlubaaj, a seasoned scamster in the local parlance whose criminal career has spanned generations.
The Evolution of a Con Artist: From Gold Bricks to Cyber Scams
Shamim never required a traditional katta or tamancha to ply his trade. His real weapons were always a honeyed tongue and a razor-sharp wit, meticulously honed over decades of deception. He began his journey as a petty offender but climbed the criminal ladder with alarming speed and ingenuity. His early schemes involved brass slabs that were expertly polished and plated to pass off as genuine gold bricks. Later, he advertised cars online that existed solely in photographs, luring unsuspecting buyers from neighboring states to Govardhan only to send them back wiser and significantly lighter in the wallet, having paid what amounted to ransom money.
In his twilight years, Shamim executed a shrewd pivot into the digital realm. Cyber fraud offered low risk with high yield — no hot pursuits across state borders, no informants to manage, and no sudden arrests to fear. With a smartphone cradled in his palm, the entire world became his marketplace. This lucrative operation continued until a recent police raid abruptly shut it down, resulting in the seizure of stacks of mobile phones, countless fake SIM cards, and a trove of forged identity documents.
A Belt Steeped in Criminal Tradition
"There are many Shamims in this belt," states SSP Mathura Shlok Kumar with a tone of grim resignation. Kumar recently led a formidable force of 350 policemen in a marathon 10-hour sweep across four of the area's shadiest villages. The operation rounded up forty suspects, including the influential gram pradhan of Deoseras village and his son, highlighting the deep-rooted nature of the criminal networks.
This belt is predominantly inhabited by the Mewati community, long infamous for their extensive criminal activities. "Deoseras alone," explains Kumar, "has a population of approximately 10,000 residents, and nearly 70% have, at some point in their lives, been linked to cyber fraud networks operating across India and even overseas." The scale and persistence of the problem have consistently defied conventional law enforcement solutions, prompting a radical new approach.
Faith as a Deterrent: A Novel Policing Strategy
In the sacred city of Mathura, often called 'dharm ki nagari', the police have begun deploying belief as a powerful deterrent. Borrowing inspiration from the Biblical concept of the "fear of the Lord", the Govardhan police have ingeniously invoked the fear of both Ram and Rahim. At carefully organized public meetings, villagers are now asked to place their hands solemnly on the Quran and the Ramcharitmanas and swear oaths to walk the straight and narrow path. Some participants have gone even further, publicly naming involved relatives and promising to sever all criminal ties.
Whether faith can hold firm where fear and traditional policing have previously failed remains an open question, but early indicators suggest a shift. "This belt has been a persistent sore spot for nearly five decades," reveals DIG Agra Shailesh Kumar Pandey. "Until recently, the infamous gold-brick con was virtually a cottage industry here. A wealthy man in Delhi, Agra, or Meerut would receive a frantic call from a supposed poor farmer claiming to have stumbled upon a gold brick while ploughing his field. Afraid of officials seizing it, the farmer would plead helplessness and offer to sell it cheaply. To clinch the deal, he would produce a small piece sawn off the brick—tested and found to be pure gold."
By the time the victim realized the truth, the tatloobaaj would be merrily sipping tea in Gurgaon or Jaipur. Slipping effortlessly across state borders and exploiting inter-state jurisdictional wrangles only emboldened these fraudsters further. The racket grew so rampant that Mathura police were once compelled to install public banners warning visitors with the age-old adage that all that glitters is not gold.
Criminal Prosperity and the Turning Tide
Over the years, deep-seated criminal networks, unbreakable kinship chains, and cross-border safe havens have ensured steady prosperity for many in these villages. Recently, a lavish wedding triggered police alarm bells when baratis from Rajasthan arrived in a convoy of more than two dozen Thar and Defender SUVs—a blatant display of ill-gotten wealth. Video footage from the event is now being meticulously scanned to identify wanted men who melted seamlessly into the festivities.
The signs of this criminal prosperity are all too visible: newly constructed houses with designer interiors, and women casually sporting expensive iPhones and Apple smartwatches. However, officials assert that the tide is turning, slowly but surely. According to data from the Pratibimb portal, this notorious cluster logged nearly 60 fraud calls per day in December. That alarming figure has now dropped dramatically to just six calls daily. Drones now hover persistently overhead, search teams fan out regularly, and surveillance has become a relentless, round-the-clock operation.
An exodus of sorts has begun, and for the first time in decades, Govardhan's seasoned con men are being forced to watch their backs with genuine anxiety. This time, they are not only being watched by an increasingly vigilant police force but, symbolically at least, by the gods themselves, as faith is weaponized in the fight for law and order.
