The Devbhumi Dwarka police arrested a 24-year-old school dropout, Pankaj Rathor, and his uncle, Basant Solanki (51), from Indore for allegedly running a Ponzi-style online stock investment scheme using Facebook advertisements.
The case came to light when Dwarka businessman Sandeep Tanna filed a complaint, alleging that the duo defrauded him of Rs 41 lakh on September 16. According to the FIR, the men lured Tanna through Facebook ads promising high stock market returns, posing as employees of a stockbroking firm and producing fake SEBI certificates to gain his trust. Tanna reportedly transferred the money in 88 transactions over time.
Superintendent of Police Jayrajsinh Vala stated that the Cybercrime police traced the suspects to Indore using a combination of human intelligence and technical surveillance. Both Pankaj and Basant are residents of Ramgarh village, Ratlam district.
During the investigation, police seized Rs 6.91 lakh in cash, laptops, mobile phones, routers, 13 credit cards, and SIM cards. Inspector V K Kothiya noted that Pankaj admitted to hiring an IT expert to create a website for the fraudulent stockbroking firm.
