3 arrested for duping 76-year-old of 3.81cr in online share trading

MUMBAI: The city cyber police arrested three persons on December 3-4 for allegedly defrauding a senior citizen of ₹3.81 crore by luring him with high returns in share market investments. Police said one of the arrested accused, Satish Yadav, had opened a shell company in which the complainant transferred ₹1.50 crore from his bank account.

Yadav lives in BR Nagar in Diva while the other two accused, Vikas Maurya and Sachin Chaurasia, live in Mumbra and Diva East, respectively.

According to the police, the 76-year-old complainant lives in the Breach Candy area and exports automobile parts. He claimed that he got a message on his WhatsApp about investments in the stock market. He contacted the number given in the message and soon started receiving stock plans.

Initially, the complainant invested small amounts and noticed that he was getting huge returns. Thereafter, he made 28 transactions between February 14 and March 28, transferring ₹3.81 crore.

When the complainant tried to sell his stocks, the broker stopped responding to his calls. Realising that he had been duped, he approached the Central Cyber police station and submitted a written application. After investigation, police registered an FIR in May.

“During investigation, it was found that ₹1.50 crore of the defrauded amount was deposited in the account of the shell company known as Shield Associate, which was set up by Satish Yadav,” said police inspector Mousami Patil of the Central Cyber police station. “The accused had opened an account in AU Small Finance Bank.”

The accused were arrested under sections 419, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 34 of the IPC and relevant sections of the IT Act. They were produced in court on December 4-5, which remanded them in police custody.