Delhi Police’s South West District Cyber Cell has cracked a cyber fraud ring operating under the guise of online digital gold trading, arresting two key suspects: Indra Kumar Sahni (36) from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and Rahim Khan (24) from Barmer, Rajasthan. Police seized five mobile phones containing critical evidence linked to the scam.
The scam duped a retired Delhi Colonel out of approximately Rs 41.45 lakh by luring him with promises of high returns in dollar-denominated digital gold investments. The accused ran a sophisticated cyber fraud network with international connections, including links to China.
According to DCP Surender Chaudhary, the Colonel from Vasant Kunj was first contacted via WhatsApp and introduced to a fake digital gold trading website. Initially, the website showed his investment growing to nearly Rs 1 crore. However, when he attempted to withdraw funds, he was repeatedly asked to pay additional fees, such as new charges and taxes, eventually losing all his money.
A special police team conducted thorough technical surveillance, scrutinized bank accounts, and used digital forensics to identify and arrest the accused. Indra Kumar Sahni was apprehended at a hotel in Ahmedabad with three mobile phones seized. Rahim Khan was later arrested, with two more phones recovered.
Interrogation revealed Sahni had opened nine fake current accounts under various names, leasing them to fraudsters for a commission. Khan managed these accounts, hosting fake account holders in hotels to facilitate transactions. He used a Telegram-based application enabling remote control of the scam from outside India, reportedly receiving commissions from a mastermind based in China.
The investigation is ongoing, with police conducting raids to apprehend additional suspects involved in the international cyber fraud ring.