In a significant breakthrough, Kolkata Police arrested four individuals on charges of defrauding a man of Rs16.42 lakh through a fraudulent investment scheme on WhatsApp. The complainant, Goutam Roy Chowdhury, 50, a resident of Nayabad, Purba Jadavpur, initially joined a WhatsApp group where members lured him into investing in specific shares. Following the instructions, Chowdhury transferred money in multiple instalments to various bank accounts from March 9 onwards. However, he later realized that he had lost all his investment and had not gained any returns.
Chowdhury filed a complaint in June, prompting the police to investigate the case. A complaint was lodged under sections of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, and provisions of the Information Technology Act. During the investigation, officers arrested Praveen Goel (39) and Om Prakash Mishra (36), both from Howrah, along with Shiva Kumar Sonkar (36) and Aloke Agarwal (44) from Shyampukur.
Police discovered that each arrested individual played a specific role in the fraudulent operation. They handled beneficiary accounts, supplied mule accounts for illicit transactions, and used fraudulent documents. Authorities seized six mobile phones, 52 unused SIM cards, eight rubber stamps with different company names, a debit card, and several other documents related to the scam.
In another related investigation, the police arrested Bikram Basak, who is linked to a separate fraud involving Rs1.43 crore. Basak allegedly communicated with a person in China through WhatsApp, who instructed him to carry out the fraudulent activities. The money siphoned off was reportedly transferred in cryptocurrency to the suspect’s contact in China.
The police are verifying Basak’s statement and continue to track down the international links behind this scam.