Major Cyber Fraud Bust: Pune Police Unearth China-Linked Scam Network
The Pimpri Chinchwad police have made a significant breakthrough in a massive online share trading fraud case, arresting a key operative who allegedly supplied bank accounts to cyber criminals based in China. The accused, identified as Harshwardhan Surendrapratap Bhadoriya, operated under multiple aliases including 'Fortune' and Punit, and is suspected to have earned more than ₹1 crore through his illegal activities.
The Elusive 'Bank Account Supplier' and His Modus Operandi
According to police officials, the 32-year-old resident of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, used sophisticated methods to evade detection, including dealing in cryptocurrency and communicating through virtual numbers. His arrest on November 23 at Ahmedabad airport came after an extensive investigation that began with a complaint filed on October 3.
"Fortune was using virtual numbers to contact people, due to which tracing his location was a difficult task," revealed Assistant Police Inspector Pravin Swami of the cyber police station. The police managed to track him down after one of his associates, Vishal Thakkar, provided crucial information about his travel plans from Varanasi to Ahmedabad.
How the Multi-Crore Share Trading Scam Unfolded
The case originated when a 49-year-old manager from Bavdhan, working at a prominent automobile company, fell victim to an elaborate online share trading scheme. The complainant, who uses a Telegram ID and HDFC Bank account, was lured into a Telegram group called '85 SC India stock circle' in July this year.
The group administrator, operating under the fake name 'Lata Gupta', promised substantial financial returns on share market investments. Between July 9 and September 9, the victim transferred a staggering ₹2,19,04,794 through multiple online transactions to various bank accounts, believing he was making legitimate investments and paying necessary fees.
It was only later that the complainant realized he had been systematically defrauded by cyber criminals posing as online share traders.
The Investigation Trail and Additional Arrests
Police investigations led them to discover that ₹78 lakh from the total amount had been transferred to an account in Saraswat Bank. A police team led by Police Sub-Inspector Vaibhav Patil questioned the account holder, who turned out to be a nurse from Sangli.
The nurse revealed that she had provided her bank account details to her friend, Mohammad Saeed Patel, when she met him in Nashik. Patel was subsequently arrested on November 10.
Further probe uncovered that accused Vishal Dinesh Thakkar (alias Samar Gupta), a 28-year-old share trader from Thane, had obtained the bank account details from Patel. According to police statements, Thakkar had paid ₹12 lakh to Patel for providing bank accounts that were later utilized for cybercrimes.
Thakkar was apprehended from Mumbai on November 16 by a team led by PSI Sagar Poman. During interrogation, Thakkar disclosed that he had supplied the nurse's bank account to 'Fortune' after receiving cryptocurrency Binance USDT from him.
Nationwide Impact and Recovery Efforts
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shivaji Pawar stated in an official release that bank accounts supplied by the accused in this case were used to cheat 26 people from different parts of the country, with the total fraud amounting to crores of rupees.
Police have managed to freeze ₹39,62,315 of the transferred amount by promptly contacting the respective banks. The investigation, currently being handled by Police Inspector Ravikiran Nale, continues to examine other bank accounts used by the scamsters.
Six cell phones have been recovered from the arrested accused, providing crucial digital evidence. API Swami further elaborated that Bhadoriya is a post-graduate in Hindi and has been involved in cybercrimes for approximately two years.
"Our probe revealed that he has been committing cybercrimes for the last two years. He is found to be in contact with the cyber criminals operating from China through social media communication channels. We suspect he earned huge money, maybe over Rs 1 crore, by supplying bank accounts to the racketeers in China," Swami confirmed.
The case highlights the growing sophistication of international cyber crime networks and the critical need for enhanced digital security awareness among Indian citizens.
