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DEHRADUN: Cyber criminals have defrauded a 60-year-old resident of Chamoli district of ₹47.50 lakh after luring him with promises of hefty returns on stock market trading. Following a complaint by the victim, the Cyber Crime Police Station registered a case under relevant sections of cheating and the Information Technology Act to track down the network of suspects.
Lured Through Messaging Group
The victim, identified as Girish Chandra Joshi, a resident of Gopeshwar, stated in his complaint that a woman identifying herself as Meera Kapoor first contacted him over WhatsApp on July 16. She offered him complimentary recommendations regarding the purchase and sale of company shares. Joshi was subsequently added to a dedicated messaging channel named ‘K101 Afrin Diya Exchange’.
Within the group, an individual identified as Manish Agarwal operated as the primary adviser, while administration tasks were handled by Meera Kapoor alongside another associate named Namrata. The operators provided consistent investment recommendations free of charge until September 8, gradually gaining the victim’s trust. Once they had established credibility, the operators dissolved the chat group and instructed Joshi to install a separate social media application to continue the operations.
Funds Siphoned via Fake Portal
On September 9, the suspects directed Joshi to register a sub-account on their designated website. Between September 9 and October 15, the perpetrators prompted the elderly investor to deposit ₹47.50 lakh into multiple bank accounts under the pretext of allocating funds for initial public offerings, rights issues, and special market deals.
The fraud unravelled on October 23 when Joshi attempted to withdraw his accumulated capital. A woman claiming to be finance manager Ishita Singh, along with other associates, declined to process the transaction, insisting that the account could only be closed after he deposited their designated share of profits. Joshi requested that the operators deduct their commission directly from the purported returns and release the remaining balance, but the suspects refused to return any funds. Realising he had been deceived, the complainant submitted an official report to the authorities. Cyber Crime Police Station In-charge Inspector Devendra Nabiyal confirmed that an investigation has commenced.
Additional Online Frauds Reported
In a separate string of incidents reported in Dehradun, cyber fraudsters duped two more residents of an aggregate amount of ₹3.10 lakh, prompting further police intervention.
According to investigators, Mussoorie Road resident Sanjay Malik received an unsolicited WhatsApp call on the afternoon of October 25. The caller claimed to be an official from HDFC Bank and offered to enhance the credit limit on Malik’s card. Under this guise, the caller induced him to install a fraudulent APK file, thereby gaining remote control of his smartphone. The accused subsequently made online purchases worth ₹1.10 lakh using two of his credit cards. In another case, Turner Road resident Ritu Malik reported that ₹2 lakh was mysteriously transferred out of her son’s Punjab National Bank account. The family was unable to determine the precise method used for the fund transfer, and police are currently examining both matters.
