Delhi Police bust investment fraud racket, arrest 3 for cheating Rs 47 lakh

Delhi Police has busted a cyber fraud racket operating through a fake online investment platform and arrested three people for allegedly duping a victim of over Rs 47 lakh, an official said on Sunday.

The accused were arrested on Saturday in connection with the case registered in the southwest district on the complaint of a victim who claimed fraudsters duped him of Rs 47.20 lakh by luring him into investing in stocks, equities, and IPOs via a fraudulent online platform, police said.

During the investigation, police identified a current account in the name of a private firm as a key conduit, into which the accused transferred Rs 3 lakh of the defrauded amount.

“Further analysis revealed that the account was linked to at least 12 cyber fraud complaints, establishing it as a “Layer-1″ account used for routing cheated funds,” a senior police officer said.

A team conducted extensive interstate operations across Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and adjoining regions using technical surveillance and field intelligence.

Vishal Chauhan, 47, a resident of Haryana’s Jind, was apprehended first, the police said, adding that he had knowingly shared his bank account credentials, SIM card, debit card and cheque book with other members on a commission basis.

Chauhan received Rs 50,000 for facilitating illegal transactions through his account. Three mobile phones were recovered from his possession, linked to the offence, they said.

Further investigation led to the arrest of Ritvik Yadav, who acted as a mediator. He procured the bank kit and SIM card from Chauhan and supplied them to other co-conspirators in exchange for commission, the police said.

The third accused, Priyal Pratap Yadav, 22, a resident of Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, was later apprehended from Kingsway Camp in Delhi. A mobile phone used in the fraudulent transactions was recovered in his instance, they said.

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Sustained interrogation revealed that the accused were part of a larger organised syndicate involved in procuring bank accounts of people and firms on commission ranging from 25 to 40 per cent. These accounts were used to route proceeds of cyber fraud in an attempt to evade detection, the police said.

Chauhan and Ritvik have been remanded to judicial custody, while Priyal has also been arrested. Further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend other members, the police added.