Three individuals, including a student from BITS Pilani in Rajasthan, were arrested on charges of cyber identity fraud targeting Basant Maheshwari, a renowned stock market analyst and advisor in Salt Lake. The trio gained access to confidential stock market advice Maheshwari offered exclusively to his premium paid subscribers via a financial services app.
The fraudsters reportedly threatened to post Maheshwari’s private stock tips on a free account unless their demands were met. They sought Rs 30 lakh and 20,000 bitcoins in exchange for terminating the fraudulent account.
Rahul Ganguly, Maheshwari’s lawyer, confirmed the extortion attempt, stating, “They had threatened to continue to post the advices on the free account. They demanded Rs 30 lakh and 20,000 bitcoins for terminating the account.”
The Bidhannagar cyber police launched an investigation, leading to the arrest of Yash Naresh Waghela (23) from Mumbai earlier this month. Waghela named Mohammad Ateequee (21), a student at BITS Pilani, who was subsequently arrested. On Thursday, the police also apprehended Vipulkumar Bhatta Bhoumick (27) from Ahmedabad.
The arrests have been hailed as a significant success in the fight against cybercrime, particularly targeting high-profile individuals and their digital identities.