Surat: The Surat City Cyber Crime Cell on Friday arrested five members of an interstate cyber fraud network accused of cheating a resident of Rs 26.20 lakh through a fake share market trading and investment scheme, with investigators finding that the bank account used in the fraud is linked to 149 cyber crime complaints across India and suspicious transactions worth more than Rs 6.53 crore.
According to officials, the fraud began after the complainant was added to a WhatsApp group where the accused shared purported share market trading tips and claimed that trading through their application would generate high returns.
The victim was then sent a link to a fake trading website and instructed to create an account. The accused allegedly persuaded the complainant to transfer a total of Rs 26.20 lakh into multiple bank accounts for share market trading and investment.
The money was never returned, following which the complainant reported the matter through the National Cyber Crime Helpline, 1930.
Based on the complaint, the Cyber Crime Cell registered an FIR under Sections 318(4), 336(2), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2008.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) S.E. Daniels supervised the investigation, while Police Inspector V.D. Mandora led the team that traced the accused through technical analysis, financial trail examination, digital evidence and interstate coordination.
Police arrested five accused from Odisha and West Bengal.
They have been identified as Ranjan alias Sunil, 33, of Sundargarh district, Odisha; Krishna Kumhar alias Kishan, 54, of Jharsuguda district, Odisha; Subaschandra, 52, of Gajapati district, Odisha; S.K. Alamgir, 41, of Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal; and Basantsingh alias Singhsar alias Big Boss, 45, of Murshidabad district, West Bengal.
Investigators said Ranjan and Krishna jointly opened an Axis Bank current account in the name of “RRK PublicBazzar Private Limited”.
According to police, they rented the account to Subaschandra and Alamgir for a commission.
The two allegedly passed the bank account kit to Basantsingh, also in exchange for commission, who then supplied it to absconding members of the network to facilitate cyber fraud.
Police said the accused, along with the account holders, transferred money obtained through cyber fraud using IMPS and RTGS through net banking to absconding conspirators.
In the present case, investigators found that Rs 50,000 from the complainant’s defrauded amount had been routed through the account.
The investigation further revealed that the Axis Bank account used in the offence has been linked to 149 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) from different states.
Police also found that between March 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026, suspicious cyber-fraud transactions totalling Rs 6,53,43,924 were carried out through the account.
Police said the accused also have criminal records in cyber fraud cases registered in Odisha, Karnataka and West Bengal.
These include cases at the Sundargarh Cyber and Economic Offences Police Station in Odisha, the North CEN Cyber Crime Police Station and the Whitefield CEN Police Station in Bengaluru, and the Badgawan Police Station, all under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.
Basantsingh is also linked to an earlier case registered at Hare Street Police Station in Kolkata under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
Following the arrests, officials advised the public not to respond to unsolicited messages promising guaranteed profits through forex or share trading.
The police also urged people to leave and block unknown WhatsApp or Telegram groups and cautioned investors against committing larger sums merely because they initially receive small returns, warning that fraudsters often use such tactics to gain victims’ confidence before carrying out larger financial frauds.
Police further appealed to members of the public who become victims of financial cyber fraud to immediately contact the National Cyber Crime Helpline, stating that prompt reporting improves the chances of preventing further transfer of stolen funds.
(IANS)
