Mumbai: Senior Citizen Duped of Rs 67 Lakh in Share Trading Scam; One Accused Arrested

In a major breakthrough, cyber police have arrested a 24-year-old youth who provided bank accounts to cyber fraudsters. The accused is alleged to have provided 19 bank accounts to a prime accused from Karnataka involved in cyber fraud. The police suspect that crores of rupees have been deposited into these accounts from the cyber scam. During the investigation, it was found that the bank accounts were in the names of vendors like vegetable sellers and agricultural business owners.

The complainant, a 67-year-old woman residing in Girgaon, was deceived under the pretext of making substantial profits from share trading. The woman was defrauded of Rs 67,15,174 by the cyber criminals.

According to the officer handling the case, the complainant received a phone call on January 16, 2025. The caller sent her a link claiming to offer good returns from share trading. Subsequently, under the guise of investment, the woman was coerced into transferring Rs 67,15,174 to various bank accounts. The woman was also added to a WhatsApp group where guidance on share market investments was falsely being provided.

After the woman filed a complaint, cyber police registered the case and initiated an investigation. During the probe, it was discovered that a sum of Rs 16 lakh had been deposited into a particular bank account. This account was registered under the name of Hemant Mali, associated with Kalyani Enterprises, and was located in a private bank. Investigations revealed that the account holder was involved in agricultural and vegetable sales. However, the account was being used by the accused, Mohit Akash Bhojraj, a 24-year-old resident of Bhimnagar in Dahisar West.

Further investigation revealed that the accused had opened 19 bank accounts for cyber fraudsters. The whole scam is linked to a notorious criminal from Mangalore, Karnataka, who was provided these accounts by the accused. The accused used to identify individuals involved in businesses like vegetable sales or agriculture, persuading them to open bank accounts under the pretext of needing them for business purposes. These accounts were then handed over to the cyber fraudsters. Police suspect that substantial amounts have been deposited into these accounts, which they believe belong to the victims of the fraud.