— GANG INVOLVED IN 34 CYBER FRAUD COMPLAINTS ACROSS 14 STATES; FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ONGOING: DGP PUNJAB GAURAV YADAV
— FRAUDSTERS DUPED VICTIM OF ₹15L THROUGH FAKE STOCK MARKET SCHEME, SAYS ADGP V NEERAJA
CHANDIGARH, June 17:
Amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Police’s State Cyber Crime Division has busted an inter-state gang involved in Investment fraud with the arrest of two persons from Panchkula and Abohar, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.
The modus operandi used by this gang was to lure innocent persons into their trap by offering high profits in stock market investment through Telegram and WhatsApp groups. The fraudsters used to convince victims to install a fake APK application, which projected a huge return on his invested money. After seeing huge profit on the fake application, the victim continued to invest money in different bank accounts as directed by the fraudsters.
Those arrested have been identified as Varun Kumar, arrested from Panchkula, and Sahil Sethi, arrested from Abohar. Investigations revealed that Varun Kumar had rented his bank account to Sahil Sethi on a commission basis, who further procured such Mule accounts for Cyber Financial frauds and delivered them to various locations in NCR region of New Delhi as per directions received from the kingpins through virtual mobile numbers.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the kingpins were giving commission to arrested accused persons based on the fraudulent amount transferred in these bank accounts (Mule accounts).
“Preliminary investigations have revealed that the arrested accused were involved in 34 other cyber fraud complaints spread across 14 states, with total scam amounts exceeding Rs 8 crore,” said the DGP, while adding that investigation is ongoing to uncover the virtual mobile numbers and the broader network behind these fraudulent activities.
Sharing operation details, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Cyber Crime V Neeraja said that following a complaint from a victim who was duped of Rs 15 lakh, a Cyber Crime team under the supervision of Inspector Jujhar Singh conducted a thorough investigation. The team, using multiple OSINT techniques and technical assistance from Samanvay portal of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre(I4C), had managed to establish the identity of the accused persons and subsequently, arresting them, she added.
The ADGP said that further investigation regarding the Virtual Mobile numbers and the delivery of fake Bank accounts in Delhi/NCR region is in progress, she said, while adding that these arrests have exposed a deep-rooted cyber fraud network operating across 14 states.
A case FIR No. 04 dated 08-05-2025 has been registered under sections 318(4) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act at Police Station State Cyber Crime, Punjab.
