Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad Cyber Cell Busts Rs 18 Lakh Fraud Scheme, Arrests Three from Thane
Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pimpri Chinchwad, 12th July 2024: The Pimpri Chinchwad Police have arrested three individuals from Thane who duped a woman out of over Rs 18 lakh. She was introduced to this scheme through a Facebook advertisement, and upon clicking the link, she was promised 30% profitable returns. They were tracked down through their bank accounts. This incident happened online in Sangvi, and the police arrested the accused on 9th July.
The woman, a resident of Sangvi, complained to the Sangvi Police Station. Sangvi Police have arrested Ashwin Shetty, also known as Ashwin Narayan Shergar, Virendra Rajendra Prasad Rai, and Naseer Abdul Sayyad, all residents of Thane district. A case has been registered against them under IPC Sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act of 2000.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) Swapna Gore, a few days prior, the woman saw a Facebook ad promising 25 to 30% profit returns. She invested Rs 18,12,336 in this scheme, which was used to buy United States Department of the Treasury (USDT) Dollars. The woman was duped as she neither received the invested amount nor the promised returns. Realizing this, she rushed to Sangvi Police Station to register the complaint. Along with Sangvi Police, the Cyber Cell also started investigating the matter.
The bank account details to which the money was transferred were traced, and the investigation revealed that the users of these bank accounts were living in the Mumbai area. Further investigation showed that the duped amount was used to buy USDT Dollars. With the help of local police, a team from Pimpri Chinchwad Cyber Cell went to Mumbai and arrested the three individuals. During the arrest, they confessed to committing the crime with the help of their accomplices from Dubai, identified as Salman and Abhi. The police seized cash worth Rs 4 lakh and seven mobile phones. Currently, the accused are in the custody of Sangvi Police Station.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinoy Kumar Choubey, Additional Commissioner of Police Vasant Pardeshi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Doifode, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) Swapna Gore, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Dr. Vishal Hire. The team included Assistant Police Inspector Praveen Swami, Police Sub Inspector Sagar Poman, Police Sub Inspector Ravindra Panhale, and Police Constables Atul Lokhande, Nitesh Bichewar, Saurabh Ghate, Shrikant Kabule, Deepak Bhosale, Sachin Ghadage, Abhijeet Ukirde, and Ashok Javare, all from the Cyber Cell of Pimpri Chinchwad Police.
