Vashi police arrested two men from Jaipur, Rajasthan—Rahul Sitaram Choudhary (22) and Manoj Dharmveer Samota (22)—on August 6 for allegedly supplying bank accounts to cybercriminals involved in an online fraud. The arrests are linked to a case where a Vashi businessman was defrauded of Rs16.2 lakh in March 2025.
According to police investigations, the accused bought bank accounts, SIM cards, and debit cards from financially vulnerable youths for Rs10,000 to Rs12,000 each. These were then handed over to cyber fraud gangs who used the accounts to receive money from victims of online scams.
The fraud unfolded after scammers posing as Upstox customer service representatives lured the businessman with promises of high returns in stock trading. The victim was persuaded to open a VIP trading account, through which his deposits were siphoned off to fraudulent accounts.
Guided by Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Dhumal, a team led by API Yogesh Bhosale traced the fraudulent accounts and identified the middlemen. The duo was caught in a trap laid in Jaipur and arrested at Vishwakarma Police Station. The Vashi police obtained a three-day transit remand to bring them to Navi Mumbai for further questioning.
During the arrest, police recovered five mobile phones, five bank passbooks, 15 debit cards, Aadhaar cards, and SIM cards from Choudhary. From Samota, they seized five mobile phones, one passbook, and eight debit cards. Authorities continue investigating to identify more suspects in the chain.
The police have urged the public to avoid sharing sensitive information such as PAN card details, Aadhaar numbers, linked mobile numbers, or bank account data without proper reason, cautioning that these can be exploited for cyber fraud.
