₹3.66-cr online trading scam: All 6 accused land in Chandigarh police net
The complainant, a resident of Sector 49, Chandigarh, reported that he joined a WhatsApp group named “P15 Stock Market Exchange Club” created in December 2023
The Chandigarh Police cyber crime cell has arrested the sixth accused in a high-value online trading fraud case, where a city-based man was allegedly duped of ₹3.66 crore by cyber fraudsters posing as financial experts and representatives of a fake stock market trading platform.
The case relates to an FIR dated May 23, 2024, registered under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120 of the IPC, and 66D of the IT Act at the cyber crime police station. The latest arrest was made on a production warrant from Tihar Jail number 3, New Delhi, where the accused was already lodged in another cheating case.
The newly arrested accused was identified as 32-year-old Chander Mohan Singh, a resident of Haryana. He is involved in two more cyber fraud cases registered in Delhi and Faridabad.
The complainant, Surinder Kumar Thakur, a resident of Sector 49, reported that he joined a WhatsApp group named “P15 Stock Market Exchange Club” created in December 2023. The group was allegedly operated by individuals posing as financial analysts and stock market managers.
Within the group, a woman named Ankita Gupta, claiming to be a manager from SMC Global Securities Ltd, regularly shared domestic and global stock market news. Another individual, Rahul Sharma, posing as a stock market teacher, started sharing predictions on “golden stocks” with high returns, luring members with accurate tips to build trust.
Thakur was later encouraged to open an institutional trading account through a fabricated trading platform “SMCLE”, allegedly a subsidiary of SMC Global Securities. He was guided by Manish Kumar, who helped him open the account and install various trading apps and links — all of which were fake.
Between February 16 and March 25, 2024, the complainant transferred a total of ₹3,66,25,000 into different bank accounts under the belief that he was investing in high-return stocks. However, he was unable to access or withdraw any amount from the account, which was completely controlled by the scammers.
Earlier in the investigation, five accused were arrested from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and multiple digital and banking trails were uncovered. The accused used WhatsApp messages, fake websites, and cloned SEBI registration details to carry out the scam. They avoided phone calls and operated the entire fraud online.
