In a significant crackdown, the Shahjahanpur district police in Uttar Pradesh have dismantled a sophisticated cyber fraud operation, leading to the arrest of six educated individuals, including an MBA graduate. The racket, which operated from a village near Khandhar Road under the Jalalabad police station, was involved in cheating people across multiple states by posing as fake stock market advisors.
The Mastermind and Modus Operandi
According to police officials, the case unraveled after a complaint was filed a month ago by Atul Gupta, a resident of Delhi. He reported being duped of Rs 3 lakh after being persuaded to open a trading account. The subsequent investigation pinpointed Tinkal Gupta, a 31-year-old MBA graduate, as the alleged mastermind behind the elaborate scheme.
The gang's method was systematic. They had been operating for approximately eight months through several shell companies and fraudulent applications. The accused would procure personal data of potential victims—around 5,000 people's details for a mere Rs 1,000—from a website. Using this data, they conducted cold calls, luring targets with promises of hefty returns on stock market investments.
"They made shell companies and multiple applications through which they operated their nexus," explained Shahjahanpur SSP Rajesh Dwivedi. "Once trapped, they started investing money and they showed the money with massive interest in their applications. When an investor tried to withdraw the amount, they would block the account and vanish."
Wide-Ranging Impact and Arrests
The police have registered an FIR against the accused under BNS sections 318(4) for cheating, 338 for forgery of valuable security, 336 for forgery, and relevant sections of the IT Act. The arrested individuals, all residents of Shahjahanpur, are:
- Tinkal Gupta, 31 (MBA graduate)
- Pranjal Saxena, 22
- Nihal Saxena, 21
- Deepanshu Kumar, 21
- Siddhant Mishra, 20
- Rohit Rathore, 27 (BCom graduate)
Investigations revealed that the fraudulent network had a pan-India footprint, cheating people of crores of rupees in states including Delhi, Gujarat, Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. Police have identified 14 formal complaints lodged against their firm so far.
Massive Haul and Ongoing Probe
During the raids, law enforcement recovered substantial assets believed to be proceeds of the crime. The seizure includes:
- 70 high-end laptops
- One car
- Four motorcycles
- Other electronic equipment
The total value of the recovered items is estimated to be nearly Rs 1 crore. SSP Dwivedi confirmed that the gang's bank transactions are under intense scrutiny to determine the full scale of the financial fraud. "The gang's bank details are being looked into to determine the scale of their fraudulent practice," he stated, adding that efforts are ongoing to apprehend other members linked to the racket.
This case highlights the alarming trend of educated youth turning to cybercrime and the critical issue of personal data being sold cheaply on the dark web, enabling such fraudulent activities.
