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MUMBAI: The South Region Cyber Police have dismantled an interstate cyber fraud network with the arrest of three men from Nagpur, uncovering financial trails connecting them to 73 cybercrime cases registered across the country. The accused persons, including the alleged mastermind of the racket, established a bogus commercial entity and used its current bank account to funnel illicit proceeds derived from online share trading frauds. The police operation followed the tracking of a fraudulent transaction amounting to Rs 24.75 lakh, leading investigators to uncover links to six specific cases in Mumbai as well as an extensive nationwide infrastructure of shell companies and proxy accounts.
Bogus company established using fabricated papers to channel fraud proceeds
The enforcement action was executed on November 2, resulting in the apprehension of Amit Diliprao Kale, Ritik Shailesh Dhargave, and Aniruddha Satish Uke. According to investigators, the trio floated a shell corporation named Grain Garden Delight Pvt Ltd primarily to provide a banking conduit for routing money generated through fraudulent investment schemes. By operating through a formally registered private limited company and maintaining a commercial current account, the syndicate sought to project an appearance of corporate legitimacy while handling funds gathered from cybercrime victims across multiple states.
The investigation was initiated when cyber officers traced Rs 24.75 lakh, linked to an online share trading complaint filed in Mumbai, to an account held in the name of Grain Garden Delight Pvt Ltd at the Central Bank of India’s Jaripatka branch in Nagpur. Technical surveillance and data gathered from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal guided a dedicated team to the Jaripatka area, where Dhargave, designated as a director of the enterprise, was apprehended. Subsequent interrogation established the direct involvement of Kale and Uke in procuring fabricated rental agreements, forging documentation to incorporate the company, and managing its commercial banking facilities.
Seizure of bank records, SIM cards, and corporate stamps exposes wide reach
Investigators also uncovered the systematic misuse of communication channels to coordinate transactions. Police revealed that Kale operated a mobile handset fitted with a SIM card registered under Dhargave’s identity, which was directly linked to the company’s bank account. This device was used to verify fund transfers, communicate with external conspirators, and route criminal proceeds to different locations.
A comprehensive search conducted during the raid led to the confiscation of substantial operational material used to maintain the banking channels. Police seized 25 SIM cards, 11 cheque books and passbooks connected to various accounts, and 11 rubber stamps created under the names of multiple shell companies. The officers also impounded three stamp pads, ATM and debit cards, PAN cards, QR code sheets, and corporate paperwork associated with several fictitious entities. The nature of the seized material indicates that the accused were running an extensive network of accounts to distribute and launder fraudulent deposits across diverse banking streams.
Nationwide links to 73 cyber cases under scrutiny by investigators
An exhaustive analysis of the retrieved digital devices and banking records linked the trio to 73 cyber fraud complaints registered across India, including six cases lodged in Mumbai. The South Region Cyber Police Station has registered the case under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 338, 61(2), and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, alongside Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, covering cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, impersonation, and identity-related digital offences.
Police teams are tracing the broader money trail to determine whether the accused actively deceived retail investors or served primarily as financial aggregators providing laundering channels to third-party cyber syndicates. Efforts are ongoing to identify more beneficiary accounts, untraceable shell firms, and other associates involved in the pan-India racket.
