Varanasi police are investigating three separate cases of alleged fraud that together account for ₹29.83 lakh in losses, spanning a fake job racket built around forged Banaras Hindu University appointment letters, unauthorised UPI withdrawals from an Army officer’s accounts, and an unreturned investment scheme. Chitaipur Police have already arrested one accused, Dinesh Kumar, in connection with the largest of the three cases, while investigations into the remaining two continue.
Though procedurally distinct, the three cases together illustrate the range of financial crime currently confronting Varanasi’s cyber and economic offences wings, from a meticulously staged employment fraud exploiting the credibility of a prestigious university to more conventional digital banking fraud and an alleged investment scheme that ended in threats.
Forged Signatures and a ₹20.50 Lakh Job Racket
The most substantial of the three cases centres on Dinesh Kumar, arrested near Karaundi intersection after allegedly posing as a BHU employee and promising government jobs to Ajit and his wife, relatives of complainant Anil Kumar of Dangri Kala. According to the complaint, Dinesh collected ₹20.50 lakh from the family before issuing what were allegedly forged appointment letters bearing a counterfeit signature of BHU Deputy Registrar Shiv Kumar Tripathi.
When the family sought a refund, ₹8 lakh was reportedly returned, but the remaining amount was allegedly settled with cheques carrying forged signatures rather than genuine funds. The complainant further alleged he was threatened with being implicated in a false case, and even with violence, when he continued pressing for repayment, a pattern of escalating intimidation that has surfaced repeatedly in similar fake-recruitment cases uncovered elsewhere in India this year. A parallel investigation by the Enforcement Directorate has already exposed a fake government job racket spanning more than forty departments and multiple states, underscoring how organised and geographically dispersed such schemes have become, often relying on forged official email domains and counterfeit letterheads to withstand casual scrutiny.
An Army Officer’s Accounts Drained While He Was on Leave
The second case involves Ramesh Kumar Singh, an Army officer who was on leave when unauthorised UPI transactions struck two of his bank accounts on August 1. Investigators recorded ₹5,27,434 withdrawn from his Bank of Baroda account and a further ₹64,985 debited from his IDFC First Bank account, together totalling ₹5,92,419, though the original complaint cited a figure of ₹5.33 lakh, a discrepancy police are now working to reconcile through bank records.
Singh reported the incident through the national cybercrime helpline, 1930, prompting the registration of a case at the Cyber Crime Police Station. Investigators are tracing the UPI transactions and beneficiary accounts to establish how the unauthorised access was obtained and where the funds ultimately moved, a process complicated by the fact that the victim was away from his usual banking environment when the fraud occurred.
An Investment Scheme That Ended in Threats
The third case centres on allegations against Kushagra Srivastava, his wife Shubhangi Srivastava, and unnamed associates, accused by complainant Neelima Singh of running an investment scheme out of an office in the Cantonment area’s Nadesar locality. According to the complaint, victim Poonita of Mahmoorganj invested ₹4 lakh she had set aside for her daughter’s wedding, receiving interest payments briefly before they stopped entirely, with neither the returns nor the principal ever returned.
When repayment was demanded on May 25, the complaint alleges the accused threatened to kill Poonita and her family, a level of intimidation that has become disturbingly common in investment fraud cases once victims begin pressing for their money, transforming what began as financial deception into a matter carrying more immediate personal safety concerns.
A Pattern of Escalation Beyond Financial Loss
What links all three Varanasi cases, despite their differing methods, is a recurring pattern in which fraudsters resorted to threats and intimidation once victims sought accountability, whether through demands for repayment or simple requests for the promised returns. This escalation from financial deception to coercion has become a recognisable secondary phase in many Indian fraud cases, often emerging only after the initial scheme has already run its course and the accused have little left to offer beyond pressure and silence.
ADCP Cyber Nripendra Kumar urged victims of any cyber fraud to call the 1930 helpline immediately, noting that prompt reporting significantly improves the chances of freezing funds before they move beyond reach. He also advised filing a complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal with supporting transaction evidence, and contacting the affected bank directly to flag the unauthorised activity.
