A woman entrepreneur from Malad, Mumbai, was allegedly cheated out of Rs 53.73 lakh by a fraudulent trading company promising high investment returns. The Cyber Cell of the North Region Division has arrested a 38-year-old man, Dinesh Rishpal Chawla, in connection with the case.
The victim, Rani Kahar, a software developer and business owner, came to know about the bogus company through an IT friend Srinivas. She was added to a WhatsApp group associated with the company and eventually enrolled through a link where she provided her personal and banking information. Trusting the credibility of the company, she invested close to Rs 60 lakh over time.
Kahar was first paid Rs 6.25 lakh as profit, which seemed to confirm the validity of the investment. When she tried to withdraw the rest of her money, she was informed that this would impact her credit score. The company then demanded Rs 90 lakh to release her profits, and subsequently, an immediate payment of Rs 44 lakh, threatening her with a 3% tax deduction from February 2025.
Suspecting foul play, Kahar took it upon herself to investigate and discovered that the company had cheated many others in the name of online trading. She went on to file a complaint at the Cyber Cell.
Investigations led to the discovery that Chawla had established various bank accounts on behalf of cyber fraudsters and had them pass on the funds duped through these accounts, retaining a commission for himself. He was apprehended on technical evidence and confessed on interrogation.
Chawla was produced in front of a Borivali court and remanded to police custody. Officials suspect more people are involved and have initiated a broader investigation.