Brigadier (retired) Mahendra Singh, a resident of Panchkula’s DLF Valley, had no clue that he was being scammed when he received a message on WhatsApp regarding stock market investments.
The message was so compelling that Singh downloaded an app, after which he was provided with information about stock market trends and persuaded to invest. The veteran army officer thought the tips that were being provided were above board and intelligent in nature. So he initially invested over Rs 1 crore, and later, his wife also participated in the scheme. In all, the couple transferred Rs 4.2 crore into multiple accounts.
However, when Singh requested to withdraw his money, the fraudsters demanded a commission of Rs 65 lakh, prompting him to lodge a complaint with the cybercrime police.
The Haryana Police, which has arrested six suspects in the case so far, has found that the operation is part of a larger network run by masterminds based in the US and the UK, who have defrauded individuals in India of crores of rupees.
The two persons arrested recently have been identified as Manpreet Singh and Karnail Singh. These individuals are residents of villages along the Indo-Pakistan border and have been placed under four-day police remand for further investigation. Prior to their arrest, four other suspects had already been sent to jail.
The investigation also revealed that the cybercriminals had been using bank accounts of individuals living in border villages on a commission basis to transfer the fraudulently obtained funds. These account holders were reportedly paid between Rs 4,000 and Rs 10,000 for every Rs 1 lakh transferred through their accounts. The police have faced difficulties in carrying out operations in these border areas, which has allowed the criminal network to continue functioning relatively undisturbed.
Further probing into the case indicates that the individuals who provide these commission-based accounts are the first to be apprehended in such fraud cases. In response, the Haryana Police has compiled a list of suspects involved in this scheme and intends to share the details with law enforcement agencies in the UK and the US, with the aim of ensuring that the masterminds behind this international fraud operation are brought to justice.
