KOLKATA: A Salt Lake businessman thought he was joining an exclusive wealth-management circle. Instead, he found himself navigating an opaque online world of WhatsApp tips, phony scores and a disappearing guide named “Varma.” His attempt to withdraw his own money would unravel a sophisticated scam built on trust, digital anonymity and the promise of high returns.
A Familiar Invitation, and an Unexpected World Behind It
The message arrived quietly, as so many do: a link shared on WhatsApp, framed as an invitation to an investment discussion group run under the name of a reputed wealth-management firm. For the 57-year-old Salt Lake businessman who followed it, nothing initially appeared unusual. The group’s posts were brisk and professional, populated with what looked like market analysis and trading screenshots.
After creating an account on the website linked by the group, he was contacted by someone identifying herself as Ananya Varma — a woman who, over calls and WhatsApp messages, styled herself as an assistant to the investment team. Her role, she said, was simple: guide him through each step, ensure he understood the trades, help him maximize returns.
Between September 29 and November 3, the businessman invested approximately ₹1.8 crore. He received what looked like a SEBI-stamped certificate acknowledging his investment. Days later, he would learn that the stamp, the documents and the assurances were all part of a carefully engineered façade.
A Scoring System That Didn’t Exist — Until It Did
The trouble began when he attempted to withdraw part of his funds. What followed was a labyrinth of explanations that shifted each time he asked a new question.
First, he was told that his “investment score” had dropped — a metric he had never heard of, let alone agreed to. To recover it, the platform said he needed to deposit an additional ₹25 lakh. Without this, he was informed, withdrawals would not be possible.
The businessman pushed back. Why had no one mentioned a scoring system before? Why were new conditions being introduced only after he attempted to take out his money? According to the complaint later filed with police, the responses grew evasive. The scoring system, he was told, was standard. The penalty was unavoidable. The fee was non-negotiable.
What had once been an encouraging, attentive voice on the phone had become curt, impatient, and increasingly insistent.
Threats, Silence and a Vanishing Adviser
When he finally refused to pay the additional amount and warned that he would approach the Securities and Exchange Board of India, he was allegedly threatened. Shortly afterward, all communication stopped.
Repeated attempts to schedule a meeting with “Varma,” who claimed to be based in Mumbai, went nowhere. Calls stopped connecting. Messages showed only one tick. The website continued to display his frozen account, but no one on the other end responded.
Recognising he had been defrauded, the businessman lodged a complaint at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station. The police, in turn, traced the origins of the WhatsApp group and the associated website — though the operators appear to have concealed their tracks behind multiple layers of anonymity.
A Case Registered Under the New Criminal Code
The complaint has now been registered under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including 316(2), 318(4), 319(2), 338, 336, 111(4), 111(6) and 61(2), reflecting charges of cheating, criminal intimidation, and digital impersonation.
Officers familiar with the investigation said they are working to determine who controlled the fraudulent website and how the WhatsApp group was seeded with dozens of seemingly legitimate participants. Whether “Ananya Varma” was a single operator, a fabricated identity or part of a larger syndicate remains uncertain.
