Three held for duping college student of ₹52L in stock market scam
MUMBAI: Three men were arrested for allegedly defrauding a 21-year-old college student of ₹52 lakh by luring her into a fake stock market investment scheme and promising high returns.
The North Cyber Police, based in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), identified the accused as Mohammad Asif Mohammad Aslam Rahim, 28, Sushant Suresh Sapkat, 26, and Yusuf Mohammad Sheikh, 30. According to investigators, the trio had provided their bank account details to key cyber fraudsters who orchestrated the scam.
The accused were produced before the Borivali court and remanded to police custody. A special operation is now underway to trace and arrest other individuals involved in the racket.
The complainant, a resident of Malad and an M Com student at a reputed city college, approached the Cyber Helpline after realising she had been duped. Her father is a senior manager with a bank in Borivali.
Police said the woman, who is active on social media, was researching stock trading online in February last year when she came across a suspicious link. After clicking on it, her mobile number was added to a WhatsApp group administered by two individuals—Vinod Nair and his associate, Sushant Kumar.
She spent about a week observing the group's posts, which shared seemingly legitimate stock tips. Gaining her trust, Sushant Kumar eventually persuaded her to open an account through a trading platform linked in the group.
Without informing her family, she began investing in shares through the platform. Over time, she was added to other WhatsApp groups that reinforced the illusion of high profits. Between February 8 and March 21, 2024, she made multiple investments totalling ₹52 lakh.
Initially, the trading app showed encouraging returns. However, when she attempted to withdraw some profits, the transfer failed. Kumar instructed her to pay a 10% 'penalty fee' of ₹2.5 lakh to unlock the funds—but even after making the payment, the money remained inaccessible. When she raised concerns, Kumar stopped responding and eventually removed her from the group.
Realising she had been scammed, the student filed a complaint with the North Regional Cyber Cell.
Acting on the FIR, investigators traced the flow of money and identified the bank accounts into which the funds were deposited. On Monday, based on this evidence, police arrested Asif, Sapkat, and Sheikh from different locations across the city.
Interrogation revealed that the trio received the defrauded money in their accounts, withdrew it via ATMs, and handed it over to the masterminds behind the operation. In return, they received a commission. Police also found that the accused had provided multiple bank accounts to the fraudsters to facilitate similar scams.
'We are currently investigating how many others may have been cheated using the same modus operandi, and how many accounts were used to receive and route the illicit funds,' said a senior official from the North Cyber Police Station.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
TGANB busts Goa-to-Hyderabad drug network, seizes narcotics worth ₹1.64 crore and ₹49.65 lakh cash
The Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) has dismantled a major drug trafficking and money laundering network operating out of Goa and Hyderabad. The operation led to the seizure of narcotics valued at ₹1.64 crore, the arrest of four Nigerian nationals in Goa, and the recovery of ₹49.65 lakh hawala cash that was about to be sent abroad. The racket was busted when the TGANB officials were tracking routine drug consignments being sent from the Parra area of Goa to Hyderabad, said the director of the Bureau, Sandeep Shandilya. 'A key breakthrough came from a constable who flagged Livio, an accused in an NDPS case, for suspicious behaviour. Livio, who had previously been caught with 100g of cocaine, was found carrying commercial quantities of cocaine and MDMA even during court visits. He was arrested with ₹2 lakh in drug proceeds,' said the officer. Investigations revealed a supply list of 40 consumers across Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kerala. The drugs were sourced through four Nigerian nationals operating from Goa. 'In early 2024, DJ Swadeep, also known as DJ Swed, was arrested in Hyderabad. He worked at Sanctuary Pub, Film Nagar, and was found with cocaine. He was allegedly responsible for supplying drugs to several affluent and educated youth. Several drug suppliers connected to him were traced to Goa, particularly the Parra, Calangute, Siolim, and Anjuna areas,' explained the officer. Another supplier, DJ Vansh Thakkar from Thane, Maharashtra, operating under the name Beyondvoid, was also involved. He performed in Goa, Thane and Bengaluru and allegedly sourced drugs from Nigerian nationals. He used three Instagram accounts to operate his network. His delivery agent, Balakrishna, was arrested in Hyderabad. Determined to crack the Parra network, TGANB sent task force teams to recce the area. 'Four teams were formed and the final recce was conducted with the cooperation of the Goa Police. Four Nigerian accused were arrested in the raid, and drugs worth ₹1.64 crore were seized,' added the officer. Following this, the Bureau tracked drug money laundering operations. Two teams were sent to Goa for a three-day surveillance operation at Sangeetha Mobile Shop in Mapusa and Highland Park Apartments. They observed cash collections being made by agents and watched as the kingpin arrived on June 1 to collect the proceeds for remittance to Nigeria. On June 4, knowing two days' worth of money had been gathered, the teams raided the flat and seized about ₹50 lakh hidden in a washing machine. Foreign nationals were seen handing over the cash. 'If delayed by even an hour, the money would have reached Nigeria, en route for international drug cartels. Further investigation revealed that the kingpin used WhatsApp to send photos of ₹5, ₹10, and ₹20 notes. Couriers presented the matching notes to claim cash. A total of 150 bank transactions to Nigerian accounts were uncovered, involving his boss, brother-in-law, and wife, amounting to over 10 crore Nigerian naira in one year, all marked as commission,' said Mr. Shandilya. In the last leg of the probe, TGANB has concrete proof of at least 50 Nigerian nationals operating out of Goa. From 26 May to 3 June 2025 alone, 58 out-payments totalling ₹2.1 crore were tracked, with one transaction reaching up to ₹30 lakh. The hawala operation was run by Uttam Singh, Raju Singh, and Mahender Prajapathy alias Bobi. Together, they moved roughly ₹50 lakh in just two days. The seized amount was ₹49,65,000. A team is being sent to Delhi for further investigation.
Hans India
4 hours ago
- Hans India
Be aware of cybercrimes, Last week, 15 cases were reported
Adilabad: Superintendent of police Akhil Mahajan said that people should be aware of cybercrime every day as there is a possibility of more people falling victim to cybercrime in the coming future. Speaking to the media on Saturday, he said that last week fifteen cases reported in the district. He advised people to contact 1930 as soon as they are exposed to cybercrimes. He said that it is important to file a complaint in the Golden Hour as there is a high possibility of recovering the financial loss, especially if the complaint is filed within an hour of being affected by cybercrime. While conducting more awareness programs on behalf of the district police administration to the people of the society, he also said that investment frauds, loan fraud, APK files, social media fraud, job fraud, digital arrest, lottery fraud, credit card fraud etc. are happening in the present society. He said that no APK files should be downloaded in WhatsApp groups and if any mobile phone gets into the hands of cyber criminals, then the district police administration should be contacted immediately. Especially in investment frauds, people realise that they have been cheated by greedily handing over money to them in instalments. Unnecessarily disclosing credit card OTP numbers to other people's people results in loss of money, he said.
The Print
4 hours ago
- The Print
4 held for duping people by promising them jobs in Tata's semiconductor unit in Assam: Police
The accused had collected lakhs of rupees from aspirants with the promise of providing jobs in the unit, a police officer said. The semiconductor unit is being set up at Jagiroad in Morigaon district. Morigaon (Assam), Jun 7 (PTI) Four persons, including a college lecturer, were arrested in Assam's Morigaon district on Saturday for allegedly duping people by promising them jobs in the Tata group's upcoming semiconductor unit in lieu of money, police said. 'The scam involved creating fake WhatsApp groups and promising lucrative jobs to unemployed youths in Nagaon and Morigaon districts,' the police officer said. Led by alleged mastermind Tarikul Ahmed, who posed as an engineer at the semiconductor unit, they offered fake job opportunities to hundreds of youths, the officer said. 'They collected lakhs of rupees from the victims, promising them jobs in the project. The scammers even created fake appointment letters, interview letters and other documents to deceive the victims,' the police officer said. A lecturer of Economics at a college in Nagaon district and three others were apprehended, the officer said. A police investigation revealed that large sums of money got deposited in Islam's account. The police have appealed to the public to be cautious, verify the authenticity of job offers and report any suspicious activities to the authorities. PTI COR SSG SBN SBN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
