₹15L Trading Scam: Cyber Police Arrest Trio Including BTech Student

The West Region Cyber Police arrested three individuals, including a BTech student, on April 25. The accused defrauded a businessman of Rs 15 lakh through a stock market cyber fraud. They have been identified as Vipul Patne, 28, a resident of Nagpur; Shivam Prasad, 26, a resident of Chhattisgarh; and Anmol Kumar Shahi, 20, also from Chhattisgarh. Shahi is a BTech student.

The police also seized cheque books and ATM cards linked to 25 different bank accounts opened under various names. In addition, police recovered 15 SIM cards, three mobile phones, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and other documents from the accused.

According to the police, the trio has been accused of cheating people under the pretext of investing in online share trading. Vipul Patne was the first to be arrested. During the investigation, the involvement of Shivam Prasad and Anmol Kumar Shahi also came to light. Prasad and Shahi actively assisted in opening the bank accounts used in the fraud. The accused contacted several individuals, collected their documents, and opened bank accounts in their names. They offered Rs 10,000 for opening a savings account and up to Rs 15,000 for opening a current account. 

A businessman, Jasbir Singh, became a victim and filed an FIR at the Cyber Police Station on April 5. He stated that the accused had lured him into investing in online share trading. They provided him with a login ID and password, allowing him to access a virtual trading account. The accused further sent him a link to download an app and instructed him to carry out trading activities through it. Singh was asked to transfer funds into various bank accounts to purchase shares. He eventually lost Rs 14.95 lakh in the scam.