Two men, Hardik Parmar and Nawaz Bukhari, were arrested by the Cyber Crime police in Rajkot on Wednesday for their role in a Rs69 lakh cyber fraud case involving fake bank accounts and a WhatsApp impersonation scam.
According to Inspector BN Patel, the accused opened over 30 bank accounts using documents collected from acquaintances. These accounts were then handed over to cyber fraud gangs that used them to channel stolen funds.
“They obtained signed blank cheques from the account holders and provided them to the criminals, who later withdrew the defrauded money,” Patel said. Both Parmar and Bukhari are school dropouts and were paid commissions by the fraud network.
The scam is believed to have international links, with the main gang operating from abroad. Investigations are ongoing to locate their Indian associates.
This arrest follows the earlier detention of crypto trader Darshil Shah, who allegedly converted the stolen money into cryptocurrency and transferred it overseas. Two more suspects involved in creating fake accounts were also arrested previously.
The case traces back to October last year, when Sanjeev Bhattacharya, a senior accounts manager at a private firm, received a WhatsApp message from a number using the profile picture of his company’s owner, Ankur Jain. The impersonator claimed to be in a government meeting and urgently needed funds.
Trusting the sender, Bhattacharya transferred Rs69 lakh to a specified account. When further money was demanded and doubts arose, he contacted Jain’s wife—who confirmed the fraud—and then approached the police.
The cyber crime unit continues to trace the broader fraud network, both in India and abroad.
