The West Bengal Crime Investigation Department (CID) has arrested another accused in a major cyber fraud case involving a fake investment application. Police sources confirmed on Thursday that the arrest was made in Assam by a CID team on Wednesday.
The accused, Zahirul Islam, was detained from Dispur in Assam’s Kamrup district. Investigators have already sought transit remand to bring him to West Bengal for further questioning.
According to CID sources, the fraudsters launched a fake mobile app using the name of a legitimate company involved in stock market and mutual fund investments. Using this fabricated platform, the group allegedly cheated a Barasat-based doctor, Dr. Rajkumar Bhattacharya, of Rs35 lakh.
The fraudsters promoted the app through Facebook advertisements, luring unsuspecting victims with the promise of secure, high-yield investments. After Dr. Bhattacharya clicked on the ad, he was added to a WhatsApp group where he was assured of “online investment training.” Over the course of two months, he was manipulated into investing in ten stages, amounting to a total loss of Rs35 lakh.
Realizing he had been cheated, the doctor filed a complaint with the Barasat Cyber Crime Police Station. The Calcutta High Court later transferred the investigation to the CID.
During the investigation, CID officers had already arrested four individuals—Debashis Roy, arrested in March; Prosenjit Ranjan Nath, arrested from Alipore in June; and Amit Ghosh along with Riaz Ahmed, who were arrested from Garden Reach in July. Notably, Amit Ghosh is a bank employee.
Interrogation of the four arrested suspects led investigators to identify Zahirul Islam as another key participant in the fraud scheme, resulting in his arrest in Assam.
