Mumbai: Man loses Rs 61 lakh in investment scam; 3 held

An official on Tuesday said that the Mumbai police have arrested three persons for providing their bank accounts to cyber fraudsters, who duped a share trading professional of over Rs 61 lakh by promising attractive returns on investment, reported news agency PTI.

The North Regional Cyber police busted the racket and arrested the trio, identified as Lachen Shopie, Bhimbahadur Pradhan and Ramesh Kumar Abhimanyu, reported PTI.

The trio provided their bank accounts to cyber fraudsters, who would use them to park the siphoned-off money from the investment scam, he said.

The complainant in the case, Sunilkumar Sajjankumar Mishra (51), was added to a WhatsApp group last year through an unknown number. The group functioned like an online share market coaching platform, he added, reported PTI.

Mishra invested Rs 61.31 lakh as he was promised a 30 per cent return. Later, when he contacted the customer care number, he was informed that a 21 per cent tax payment was required for withdrawing the amount, reported PTI.

Finding this suspicious, Mishra refused to pay the tax. However, he failed to get the invested amount either.

Based on the technical surveillance and investigation, police identified and detained the three accused, the official said, adding that the police suspect a larger network of cyber criminals was involved in similar investment scam.

Seven staffers booked for defrauding tech firm of Rs 4.83 crore in Nagpur

In another incident, seven employees of a technology firm in Nagpur have been booked for allegedly defrauding the company of Rs 4.83 crore, police said on Sunday, reported PTI.

Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act in connection with the fraud that took place between December 2023 and February 2025, an official said.

The fraud came to light when the general manager of the company, Hexaware Technologies, discovered discrepancies during a routine data check by the quality team, he said, reported PTI.

The official said a probe revealed that some employees were processing fraudulent refunds without receiving faulty products from customers, causing losses to the company.

According to company protocol, refunds can only be issued when customers return faulty products purchased via e-commerce platforms, reported PTI.

The official said a group of employees allegedly exploited the system by creating fake customer accounts and issuing refunds, reported PTI.

Seven employees collectively siphoned off Rs 4.83 crore, he said, adding that further probe is underway.

(With inputs from PTI)