Parwanoo Police have uncovered a massive digital fraud case involving an inter-state gang that defrauded a local resident of Rs 18.5 lakh. The fraud, spanning multiple states, saw transactions amounting to crores of rupees. While Rs 10 lakh has been recovered, the investigation is still ongoing.
The incident began in October 2024, when a Mumbai resident, now living in Sector 3, Parwanoo, received a fraudulent call from someone claiming to be Ajit Rao from DHL courier service. The caller falsely informed the complainant that their Aadhaar card was used to send an illegal drug parcel to China. Rao then connected the victim to Vinay Kumar, who pretended to be a CBI officer.
Kumar accused the complainant of involvement in a Rs 538 crore money laundering case related to a Canara Bank manager and one Naresh Goyal. Through threats and coercion, Kumar convinced the victim to transfer Rs 18.65 lakh in multiple installments to his account.
According to Solan SP Gaurav Singh, the gang had been operating in Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and West Bengal for an extended period. Forensic analysis of the suspects’ mobile phones and bank accounts revealed transactions worth Rs 2–3 crore in cryptocurrencies, including UDTS, Bitcoin, and US dollars, all earned through cyber fraud.
The first arrest was made on December 29, with Anil Chaudhary (21) from Beawar, Rajasthan apprehended. Further investigation led to the arrest of Palraj (32) from Narayanasamy Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Palraj was booked under Section 35(3) of the BNSS Act for his role in the scam.
The probe also revealed that Rs 3 lakh from the complainant’s funds had been transferred to a Bandhan Bank account in West Bengal in October 2024. This amount was eventually traced to Palraj’s account, and has since been recovered, increasing the total amount recovered to Rs 10 lakh.
So far, five individuals have been arrested, and authorities continue to investigate the case, aiming to recover the remaining funds and uncover more links to the cyber fraud network.
