Mumbai: 3 Arrested for Duping Consultant of Rs 35.5 Lakh in Investment Scam

The Cyber Cell of the North Region Division has arrested three individuals for allegedly cheating a consultancy professional of ₹35.5 lakh by luring him with promises of high returns on investment. The accused have been identified as Tejas Devidas Gaikwad, Deepak Jaysingh Chaudhary, and Rahul Tukaram Memane. Following their arrest, a court has remanded all three to police custody.

According to police officials, the accused were in contact with cyber fraudsters and had opened multiple bank accounts on their instructions. The investigation revealed that the defrauded money was transferred into these accounts.

The complainant, a 53-year-old resident of Film City Road in Goregaon, runs a consultancy business and holds an account in a private bank. On February 6, he was added to a WhatsApp group named “Stop World F10” by an unknown person. The group claimed to offer lucrative investment opportunities with assured high returns.

Within the group, a woman identified as Sachi Meena handled financial transactions, while one Dr. Rajeev Singh acted as the group admin. Meena allegedly convinced the complainant to invest through their company, assuring guaranteed profits, and shared a link for the same.

After clicking the link, the complainant’s profile was created, and he was persuaded to invest. Without verifying the authenticity, he invested a total of ₹35.5 lakh between February 6 and March 20, 2026. Although the platform showed profits, he was unable to withdraw the funds. The fraudsters continued to demand additional payments under various pretexts, including processing fees, claiming that a total payment of ₹40 lakh would enable the transfer of both the principal and profits.

Realizing the fraud, the complainant approached the North Cyber Cell and lodged a complaint.

Based on the complaint, police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act against the cyber fraudsters and their associates. During the investigation, the police tracked down and detained the three accused from different locations.

Further investigation revealed that the accused had provided their bank account details to the cyber fraudsters, who used them to route the defrauded money. In return, the accused received a commission.

Police suspect that these bank accounts may have been used in other fraud cases as well. Further interrogation of the accused is underway, and officials believe more revelations are likely in the coming days.