Indore police have arrested two additional members of a cyber fraud network operating from Gujarat in connection with an online task-based investment scam that cheated a city resident of nearly Rs60 lakh.
The arrests were carried out by the crime branch as part of an ongoing investigation into a well-organised racket that lured victims with small initial profits and later coaxed them into investing large sums before vanishing.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Dandotiya said the case surfaced after complainant Mohammad Hidayatullah lodged a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP 1930). The victim stated that he was contacted through a Telegram-based task scheme and gradually persuaded to invest increasing amounts with the promise of high returns.
Based on the complaint, the crime branch registered a case under Sections 318(4), 316(5), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and began tracing the money trail and network involved.
Earlier in the investigation, four accused from Haryana and Maharashtra were arrested. During interrogation, they confessed to arranging fake and mule bank accounts for the gang in return for hefty commissions, revealing a multi-state fraud operation.
Police have so far frozen over 40 bank accounts linked to the syndicate, blocking transactions worth several lakhs of rupees.
Using technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, investigators tracked down two more suspects — Anurag and Manish Bhattar, residents of Surat, Gujarat. The duo was detained and questioned, during which they reportedly admitted that the group had defrauded hundreds of people across the country using similar online investment tactics.
Police officials said further interrogation is underway to identify other associates, recover funds, and expose the full scale of the cyber fraud network.
