A cyber fraud scheme has been unearthed after a woman professor from Ajmer was deceived of ₹7.5 lakh by scammers posing as CBI officers. The Gujarat Crime Branch arrested 45-year-old Hitesh Praveenchandra Dhodiyawala from Surat in the sweeping operation, which is believed to span several states and involve multiple bank accounts.
How the Scam Targeted a Professor
The fraud began on August 30. The professor received a call alleging that a SIM card in her name had been used in sending obscene messages. The caller, claiming to be a CBI officer named Daya Nayak, arranged a video call, threatened legal action, and warned of a Supreme Court order against her. Under this pressure, the victim was coerced into transferring ₹7.5 lakh via RTGS — believing it was needed to clear her name.
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Investigators say she remained on call for hours, unable to hang up, while the fraudster drew personal information to bolster credibility. Once funds were transferred, the scam became apparent and a complaint was filed.
Arrest, Accounts & Wider Network
Tracing the transaction, Ajmer Cyber Crime teams located the recipient account in Surat, leading to the arrest of Dhodiyawala in Jahangirpura. Police say he ran a prior investment firm and had deep debts after losses. He allegedly connected with a handler “Roki” on Instagram and facilitated the fraudulent activity by providing his IndusInd Bank account to launder money.
On September 2, roughly ₹48.78 lakh passed through his account in a single day, of which he is said to have kept ₹62,900. Authorities uncovered that he routed funds across other accounts, withdrew cash, and moved his share further to other accounts. His account is linked to at least seven cybercrime cases in states including West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Telangana.
Seized during searches were multiple SIM cards, phones, identity documents, and materials used to simulate official communications. At least one other suspect, Sahil Gajera (linked to an academy in Surat), is under investigation for providing infrastructure to the racket.
