BHUBANESWAR: The cyber crime unit of Crime Branch on Thursday arrested a woman from Delhi for her alleged involvement in an investment fraud of `87 lakh.
The accused has been identified as Vandana Bawa. The agency had registered a case in this connection on February 23 last year after receiving a complaint from a resident of Sailashree Vihar area. Investigation revealed the complainant, an employee of a private firm, was added to an unknown WhatsApp group named ‘101 Stock Discussion Group’ by a person, who identified himself as a professor, and his associates.
The accused allegedly convinced the victim to register on two shared web links on the pretext of providing stock trading tips, IPO guidance, and investment strategies. They gradually gained his trust and allegedly persuaded him to deposit a total amount of `87 lakh in IndusInd, PNB and other banks through multiple transactions on different dates in January last year by claiming it as a legitimate investment opportunity.
CB officers found through National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and Samanvaya platform that the same bank accounts of the accused were also used in at least two more cyber fraud cases in Kerala and Gujarat. After analysing the transaction details and examining other digital evidences, the investigating team lead by additional SP Ritesh Kumar Mohapatra camped in the national capital, and eventually arrested Bawa for her alleged involvement in the fraud. She was produced in a court at Saket and is being brought to Odisha on transit remand.
Various incriminating articles including a mobile phone, two SIM cards, Aadhaar and PAN cards have been seized from her possession. The investigating officer has already frozen several bank accounts of the fraudsters and also refunded an amount of Rs 10 lakh to the complainant.
“Further investigation into the case is underway. Efforts are on to unearth the entire racket, its trans-India ramification and the money trail,” said a CB officer.