A 24-year-old man, Mukesh Chaudhary, was arrested from Nagaur district in Rajasthan in connection with a fraud case involving Rs 59 lakh reported by a senior citizen to the city police crime branch.
On January 22, 2025, Shashi Sharma (61), a resident of Patel Mohalla, Yadav Colony, filed a complaint alleging that she was duped through a sophisticated SIM misuse scam. The caller claimed her SIM would be blocked within two hours due to its alleged involvement in money laundering activities. The scammer falsely implicated a person named Naresh Goyal for creating fake ATM cards linked to her Aadhaar card.
The caller insisted that Rs 2.5 crore was parked in a Canara Bank account in Nashik, warning that 10% of this amount would be transferred to her account, which would implicate her in a crime. To “verify” her account, the scammer coerced her into transferring Rs 2 lakh via RTGS on January 10, 2025.
Following the initial transfer, the scammer maintained continuous WhatsApp contact, instructing her not to disclose the matter and promising the money would be returned post verification. Trusting the caller, she made additional RTGS transfers amounting to Rs 57.65 lakh over the next ten days.
The police registered a case under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66D of the IT Act and arrested Mukesh Chaudhary. Seized items include two mobile phones, a cheque book, and a bank ATM card.
Investigations are ongoing to trace other accomplices and recover the defrauded funds.
