LUDHIANA — Cyber Crime Police Station officers in Ludhiana have arrested a 40‑year‑old IT professional from West Bengal in connection with an ₹86 lakh cyber fraud targeting a local industrialist. Authorities have recovered ₹21.5 lakh so far and are actively tracing the rest of the misappropriated funds.
Blue‑Tick Impersonation, Major Losses
The accused, who runs his own technology company, allegedly impersonated textile firm owner Shrenik Jain on WhatsApp in December 2024. Disguised as Jain’s photograph, he convinced accountant Amit Salaria to transfer the money into an ICICI Bank account, citing a purported “new business investment.” Believing the request to be genuine, Salaria complied, and ₹86 lakh was transferred before the fraud was discovered after Jain’s intervention.
Tracing the transactions, investigators uncovered a network of mule accounts used to split the sum into multiple layers. So far, they have frozen ₹21.5 lakh held by the accused. Police are interrogating him to locate accomplices and recover the balance.
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City Emerges as Cyber‑Fraud Hotspot
Ludhiana has seen a dramatic rise in cybercrime; from January 2024 to date, over 10,149 complaints have been filed, leading to ₹100 crore in victim losses and only ₹11 crore recoveries. The city’s affluent business class and reliance on digital communication make it a prime target for sophisticated schemes like WhatsApp impersonation and phishing.
Authorities note that perpetrators often use foreign SIMs and encrypted messaging platforms, complicating investigation and delaying detection until funds are offloaded into distributed accounts.