The Cyber Crime Unit of the Odisha Crime Branch has arrested five individuals, including a woman, for their involvement in a major online trading investment fraud. The scam defrauded a complainant of Rs 6,16,37,084. The arrest follows a complaint lodged by a resident of Berhampur on July 9, 2024, alleging that he was conned by Sanjana Srinivasan, who befriended him on Facebook, claiming to be a software developer at IBM, Hong Kong.
Srinivasan convinced the victim to invest in digital currency trading through a platform named ZAIF. Between May 23, 2024, and June 24, 2024, the victim transferred a total of Rs 6,16,37,084. Despite suffering initial losses, he was persuaded to invest further. However, when attempting to withdraw his funds, the platform demanded an additional Rs 89,00,000 and refused to release his money. Realizing he had been scammed, the victim filed an FIR.
An investigation led by DSP Ratnaprava Satapathy focused on analyzing the transaction details and digital evidence. The investigation traced the fraudsters to Surat, Gujarat, where the perpetrators were identified and arrested. The arrested individuals have been named as:
Sejal Ravikumar Sabhaya (33)
Sabhaya Ravi Kumanbhai (32)
Sabhaya Kumanbhai (58)
Paras Dhirubhai Jesani (32)
Dharmesh Nanubhai Savaliya (26)
All of the accused are from Surat, Gujarat.
The police seized various incriminating items, including mobile phones, SIM cards, WhatsApp chat screenshots, Aadhar cards, PAN cards, bank passbooks, cheque books, and debit cards. The accused have been charged under various sections, including 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. Additionally, they face violations under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act.
The accused were presented before the 12th Additional Senior Civil Judge & ACJM, Surat, and are now being brought to Odisha on transit remand. Meanwhile, the police have frozen several bank accounts linked to the fraudsters, and the investigation is ongoing.
