The Cyber Cell of the Western Region Division has arrested two persons in connection with a ₹1.89 crore share market investment fraud involving a senior citizen insurance agent from Andheri. The arrested accused have been identified as Chaitanya Padalkar and Dastagir Kasi, who are alleged to be associates of the main cyber fraudsters involved in the racket.
According to police, the accused had opened multiple bank accounts at the instructions of the cyber fraudsters to facilitate the scam. During the investigation, it was revealed that large sums of money from the complainant and other similar fraud cases were transferred into these accounts. Both accused are currently in judicial custody, police said.
The complainant, a 62-year-old insurance agent residing in the Andheri area, was targeted in October 2025. While at home, his mobile number was added to a WhatsApp group run by a private company, where information related to share market investments was regularly shared. Observing messages in the group, the complainant noticed that several members claimed to have made substantial profits through investments made via the company.
During this period, a woman identifying herself as Meena Bhatt contacted the complainant and lured him with promises of high returns on share market investments. Influenced by the apparent profits shown in the group, the complainant decided to invest. The group admin and Meena Bhatt helped create an ID and password for him on a trading application.
Between November and December 2025, the complainant invested a total of ₹1,89,53,000 in various shares. The application showed significant profits on his investments. However, when he later attempted to withdraw ₹2 lakh due to financial need, his withdrawal requests were repeatedly rejected despite multiple attempts.
Police said Meena Bhatt began avoiding the complainant on various pretexts, citing issues such as a low credit score and insisting that he would have to invest in more shares to enable withdrawals. As the complainant did not have additional funds and refused further investment, he was allegedly threatened that his money would not be returned and was subsequently blocked.
Realising that he had been cheated, the complainant approached the Western Regional Cyber Cell, following which a case was registered against the WhatsApp group admin and other cyber fraudsters under cheating and relevant sections of the IT Act.
During the probe, police traced the bank accounts where the defrauded money was deposited. Based on this information, Padalkar and Kasi were detained as suspects. Investigation revealed that they were in direct contact with the main cyber fraudsters and had opened bank accounts on their instructions. The complainant’s money, along with funds from other cyber fraud cases, was deposited into these accounts.
Police further said the accused transferred the money to different bank accounts operated by the cyber fraudsters and received a fixed commission in return. After these details emerged during the investigation, both accused were formally arrested.
Further investigation into the wider cyber fraud network is ongoing.