Hyderabad Police have arrested Ashish Solanki, 23, a resident near Jacob Circle, Agripada, for allegedly duping a retired ISRO scientist from Secunderabad of Rs 61.95 lakh in an online trading scam. Solanki is suspected to be involved in at least five cyber frauds totaling Rs 42 crore.
The 68-year-old scientist discovered a website run by a firm named Experts Pro Ltd on March 27. A man named Harsh, posing as a trading expert and representative of the platform, regularly contacted the victim, offering market insights and promising high returns. The victim initially invested Rs 27,000.
Following Harsh’s advice to increase investments, the scientist transferred amounts totaling Rs 61.95 lakh in instalments. Although the victim’s demat account showed significant profits, withdrawals were discouraged. By May, the victim had exhausted his financial resources.
On May 21, while traveling, the victim informed the scammer of his unavailability. The scammer assured management of the account in his absence but pressured the victim to deposit Rs 10 lakh due to alleged margin drops. When the victim hesitated, another individual intensified the pressure, leading to a confrontation and refusal to transfer further funds.
Subsequently, the victim received calls from “recovery agents” promising help to recover his money. The trading platform showed a balance of USD 75,000, but withdrawal was blocked unless additional charges were paid, continuing the fraud cycle.
The Cyber Crime Wing of Hyderabad police registered a case under Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act, along with relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigations revealed the victim made 10 transfers to multiple bank accounts, two linked to a private company where Solanki was a director.
With assistance from Mumbai police, Hyderabad police traced and arrested Solanki. Authorities noted that Rs 42 crore connected to five cyber fraud cases had been deposited into the associated accounts.
