Man arrested for swindling ₹4.97 lakh in Maharashtra under the pretext of online stock market investment

Mumbai A case of fraud worth lakhs of rupees in the name of investment in online stock market has come to light in Maharashtra. Maharashtra Cyber ​​Department has taken major action in this case and arrested a 23-year-old youth. The accused has been identified as Mohammad Ali Kapadia. He is accused of receiving the proceeds of online investment fraud in the form of cash and playing a role in its transactions. In this case, a 42-year-old man resident of Kalyan was cheated of about Rs 4.97 lakh. Cyber ​​department officials informed about the arrest on Tuesday, October 27. The police are now searching for other suspects related to this fraud and are trying to find out the amount of the fraud.

The game of fraud started with social media advertising

According to police officials, the victim of fraud is a resident of Kalyan area of Maharashtra. He had seen an advertisement related to investing in the stock market on social media. The name ‘Susquehanna International Group’ was used in the advertisement. Through this he was connected to a WhatsApp group providing information related to investment.

The name of this WhatsApp group has been described as ‘Breakthrough Communication’. The complainant was encouraged to invest in the stock market through the group. In the initial conversation, he was given investment guidance, due to which he started trusting the information given in the group.

According to the police, the fraud in this case was committed between August 25 and September 23, 2026. During this time the complainant was induced to invest through online trading application.

Contacted Shikha Sharma and inspired her to invest.

Investigation revealed that after joining the WhatsApp group, the complainant was contacted by a woman using the name Shikha Sharma. She presented herself as a person providing investment information and started giving guidance on investing in the stock market.

According to the complaint, the woman advised to invest through online trading application. The complainant was led to believe that he was taking part in a genuine investment process.

Due to this confidence, he started depositing the amount in different phases. According to officials, the complainant transferred a total of Rs 4.97 lakh to eight different bank accounts.

Police are investigating who were active behind the concerned WhatsApp group and investment application. It is also being ascertained what is the real identity of the person using the name Shikha Sharma.

Rs 4.97 lakh transferred to eight bank accounts

The most important aspect of the case is that the money received from the complainant in the name of investment was deposited in eight different bank accounts instead of one account.

When the complainant suspected that he was being defrauded of financial fraud, he lodged a complaint on the National Cyber ​​Crime Helpline number 1930 on September 27.

After this, Maharashtra Cyber ​​Department started investigating the matter. Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at the Maharashtra Cyber ​​Nodal Police Station under sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Indian Judicial Code and sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.

The investigating officers started collecting information related to transactions between bank accounts and withdrawal of funds. During the investigation of digital transactions, the police found some important clues, which helped in reaching the accused.

Police reached the accused Mohammad Ali Kapadia after checking bank accounts.

Investigation by Maharashtra Cyber Department revealed that some amount related to the fraud had reached the bank account of a person named Nikhil Kamble. The amount was withdrawn in cash from this account and delivered to Mohammad Ali Kapadia through an intermediary.

After this the investigating officers investigated the facts related to banking transactions and transfer of cash.

According to the information, on October 26, 23-year-old Mohammad Ali Kapadia appeared before the investigating officer. During interrogation, the police questioned him about his alleged role in receiving and forwarding the fraudulent amount.

Based on the facts revealed in the preliminary investigation, the police arrested Kapadia. However, his actual role and relationships with other people in this entire network are still under investigation.

Officials say that the accused may have collaborated with other persons in cash withdrawal of the amount obtained through cyber fraud. Police are also investigating the possibility whether any big organized network was active in this case.

Search for other accused of cyber fraud, police increased investigation

Maharashtra Cyber Department is now busy identifying other possible accused involved in this case. The main focus of the officers is on investigating the bank accounts into which the money received from the complainant was transferred.

Apart from this, efforts are being made to find out where the entire amount of fraud reached and how much of it can be recovered.

This case also highlights the dangers of cyber fraud in the name of online stock market investing. Cyber ​​criminals often try to gain people’s trust by using names similar to those of reputed financial institutions, social media advertisements and WhatsApp groups.

Cyber ​​security experts recommend that before investing on any online trading platform, one must check its validity and SEBI registration. Information received through unknown WhatsApp group