Kanpur: Additional Sessions Judge Anupam Singh of Kanpur Nagar on Tuesday dismissed the bail application of Vinay Pratap Singh, a resident of Raipurwa locality, who was arrested by police in connection with a cyber fraud case involving digital arrest.
Prosecution's Case
According to the prosecution, the accused and his associates allegedly duped the complainant of Rs 57 lakhs after threatening him through WhatsApp calls. Police stated that the victim was falsely informed that Rs 70 lakh had been transferred to the account of the main accused in the Pulwama attack from the Aadhaar-linked account of his wife Meena Pandey, and that his family was under suspicion for links with terrorists.
The complainant was allegedly threatened and forced to transfer Rs 57 lakh into different accounts between April 16 and April 18, 2026, under the garb of digital arrest.
Court's Observations
The judge, in his order, observed that perusal of the case diary clearly indicated it was a well-planned cyber cheating racket. The court noted that Rs 24 lakh had been transferred into the account of JS Enterprises, belonging to co-accused Jai Prakash, and the present bail applicant was closely related to him.
The court further observed that Vinay Pratap Singh and co-accused Jai Prakash, Shubhankar Singh, Raju Thakur, and Vikram Singh had stayed at Ram Krishna Gold Hotel in Hazratganj between April 16 and 19, 2026. The investigation officer had enclosed photocopies of the hotel register, which allegedly showed that all accused persons stayed together in the hotel. The hotel manager also identified them, while the mobile location of the applicant showed his presence in Hazratganj during the relevant period.
Observing that all facts indicated that the accused persons had constituted a gang for cyber cheating and cheated an innocent person to the tune of Rs 57 lakh under the guise of digital arrest, the court held that the offence was serious in nature and the applicant was not entitled to bail.
Prosecution's Arguments
Earlier, Additional District Government Counsel Pankaj Tripathi argued that the accused applicant was an active member of a cyber fraud gang engaged in extorting money through fabricated digital arrest cases. He submitted before the court that the accused and his associates forced the victim to transfer money through RTGS into different bank accounts.
The prosecution further claimed that the accused himself admitted that he had met co-accused Raju Thakur in Kolkata and handed over his Aadhaar card, bank passbook, and PAN card to him. All accused later stayed together at a hotel in Hazratganj, Lucknow, and committed the crime.
Bail Plea Rejected
In his bail plea, Vinay Pratap Singh claimed innocence and stated that he had gone to Kolkata, where he met Raju Thakur, who assured him of providing a senior job in a company. He alleged that Raju had deliberately collected his Aadhaar card, bank passbook, and biodata, and he had been falsely implicated in the case. However, the court found the evidence strong and rejected the bail application.
