The Pimpri Chinchwad cyber police have arrested three men for their alleged role in a large-scale online share-trading scam that cheated a senior official of an automotive company of Rs2.10 crore.
The arrested suspects are Harsh Bhadoriya (32), also known as Fortune, from Kanpur; Vishal Thakkar (28) from Thane; and Mohammed Patel (25) from Sangli. Police traced Bhadoriya’s travel itinerary and apprehended him in Ahmedabad.
Investigators found that Bhadoriya and Thakkar were supplying mule bank accounts to cyber fraud syndicates operating from China and other foreign countries. Police believe the duo may have helped defraud at least 26 victims across India.
The investigation began when the complainant, an automobile company official from Pimpri Chinchwad, was enticed through a messaging app with promises of high returns on stock market investments. Convinced by the fraudulent claims, he transferred Rs2.10 crore to several accounts between early and mid-November.
Senior inspector Ravikiran Nale’s team later traced Rs78 lakh of the stolen funds to a bank account in Sangli. Although the account was registered under a nurse’s name, it was operated by her acquaintance, Mohammed Patel, who admitted the account had been used as a mule account. Patel also confessed to receiving Rs12 lakh in commission from Thakkar.
A separate team then arrested Thakkar in Thane. During interrogation, he revealed that he worked closely with “Fortune,” receiving cryptocurrency in return for providing mule bank accounts. Remarkably, Thakkar had never seen Fortune’s face and identified him only through pictures of his luggage.
Acting on intelligence that Fortune was flying from Varanasi to Ahmedabad, sub-inspector Vaibhav Patil identified and arrested Bhadoriya at the airport using the luggage images. Bhadoriya later confirmed having direct connections with cybercriminals in China and other countries, supplying Indian bank accounts for extensive fraud operations.
Police said the accused targeted victims primarily through messaging apps, offering fake investment schemes and coordinating fund transfers to mule accounts.
The Pimpri Chinchwad cyber police are now probing the broader international network and verifying whether additional local facilitators were involved. Authorities urged the public to stay alert to unsolicited investment offers and to verify the authenticity of financial platforms before transferring money.
