HYDERABAD: A 49-year-old surgeon working at a private hospital and residing in Bandlaguda Jagir lost Rs 2.30 crore after allegedly investing in a fake online trading platform. According to the police, the fraud began in July 2025 when the victim was added to a WhatsApp group named “Grow Invest Tech Pvt Ltd.j9” by a person identifying herself as Abhilasha Bisht.
She allegedly told him that the group helped people develop trading skills and was led by a person identified as Lalit Keshre, who was introduced as a market analyst. The group allegedly offered investment opportunities in the Indian stock market through an institutional account, including block trading and IPO allocations.
The victim was later asked to create a Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB) account through a web-based trading platform. He was allegedly assisted in setting up the account and was subsequently instructed to transfer money to multiple beneficiary bank accounts provided by the platform’s purported customer support personnel to participate in block trading.
According to the complaint, the group portrayed itself as a professional investment platform dealing in block trading, IPO allocations, institutional investments and QIB trading opportunities.
Members of the WhatsApp group regularly posted screenshots showing substantial profits and successful withdrawals, allegedly creating confidence among investors.
The victim told police that his trading account displayed substantial profits, giving him the impression that his investments were generating returns. He was initially allowed to withdraw Rs 50,000.
However, when he later attempted to withdraw larger amounts, his requests were allegedly rejected, blocked or delayed. He subsequently realised that he had been cheated of Rs 2,30,98,146.
The victim approached the Cyberabad Cyber Crime police and lodged a complaint. Based on the complaint, police registered a case and launched an investigation.