Three men have been arrested for allegedly posing as Mahanagar Gas officials and using fake APK files to gain access to the mobile phones and bank accounts of two Kandivali residents, leading to a cyber fraud of ₹6.25 lakh. Police traced the money trail to Gujarat and arrested the accused in Surat.
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How the victims were targeted
In one case, complainant Bakul Kantilal Desai was contacted by unidentified persons who told him that his gas meter reading needed to be updated. They allegedly sent him an APK file purportedly belonging to Mahanagar Gas and instructed him to download it on his mobile phone.
After Desai downloaded the file, the accused allegedly gained access to his phone and transferred ₹2.7 lakh from his bank account. Desai subsequently approached Kandivali police, following which an FIR was registered under Sections 316(2), 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.
Police said a similar method was allegedly used against another victim, Shailesh Jaikishan Parmar. On May 7, 2025, Parmar was contacted and asked to pay ₹12 for a Mahanagar Gas meter reading. He was then instructed to download an APK file purportedly sent by the gas company.
After the file was downloaded, the accused allegedly gained access to Parmar’s mobile phone and transferred ₹4.17 lakh from his savings account. A separate case was registered at Kandivali police station.
Where did the stolen money allegedly go?
As investigators followed the financial trail in the two cases, they allegedly found that the accused had taken a gold loan from Bajaj Finserv.
Police suspect that money taken from the victims’ accounts was used to repay the loan and recover gold ornaments that had been pledged. The two cases together involved ₹6.25 lakh, according to police.
Three accused arrested in Surat
The accused have been identified as Urvishkumar Rajeshbhai Patel, Janikumar Pradipbhai Patel and Ankitkumar Sanjaybhai Patel.
The financial trail eventually led Kandivali police to Olpad village in Surat, Gujarat, where a police team apprehended the three men on Friday.
Police arrested them in connection with both cases and brought them to Mumbai the same day. Investigators are now trying to determine whether the trio was involved in similar cyber fraud cases targeting other victims.
