8 ACCUSED PERSONS AMONG 2 MOHALI YOUTH, HAVING B.TECH., MBA DEGREES & CYBER SECURITY DIPLOMAS, INVOLVED IN ONLINE STOCK INVESTMENT FRAUD ARRESTED, FRAUDSTERS DUPED COMPLAINANT OF 24 LAKHS THROUGH FAKE INVESTMENT PLATFORM, 60 NCRP COMPLAINTS LINKED TO MULTIPLE MULE ACCOUNTS INVOLVED IN TRANSACTIONS WORTH RS.4.5 CRORES IN JUST 14 DAYS, RAIDS CONDUCTED IN DELHI, HARYANA, PUNJAB & MADHYA PRADESH, 8 MOBILE PHONES AND BANKING RECORDS RECOVERED
Face2News/New Delhi
Team of Cyber Police Station, South-West District has successfully unearthed and busted an interstate cyber fraud syndicate involved in large-scale online investment fraud and arrested 08 accused persons namely 1) Harmanjot Singh R/o Mohali, Punjab; 2) Qaisar Masoodi R/o Mohali, Punjab; 3) Abhishek R/o Panipat, Haryana; 4) Md. Zahid R/o Jafrabad, Delhi; 5) Amir Malik R/o Jafrabad, Delhi; 6) Amarjeet Ahirwar R/o Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh; 7) Alok Sharma R/o Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh and 8) Anant Pandey R/o Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. With their arrest, 08 mobile phones, incriminating banking records, commission-sharing records and digital evidence were recovered.
On 20/03/2026, a case vide e-FIR No. 122/26 U/s 318(4)/340/319/61(2)/3(5) BNS was registered at Cyber Police Station, South-West District on the complaint of the complainant regarding cheating to the tune of approximately ₹24 lakhs on the pretext of online stock market investment.
During investigation, the complainant disclosed that he had been added to a WhatsApp group wherein admins induced members to invest in stock market trading through an online platform. Believing the scheme to be genuine, after seeing fake profit screenshots shared in the group, the complainant invested money as instructed by the fraudsters.
Thereafter, the complainant transferred approximately ₹24 lakhs into different bank accounts provided by the accused persons. Later, when he demanded withdrawal of his investment and profits, the fraudsters repeatedly demanded additional deposits on false pretexts. Upon realising that he had been cheated through a fake investment scheme, the complainant lodged complaint on NCRP portal, on the basis of which the present case was registered.
During investigation, extensive technical analysis of WhatsApp numbers, digital evidence and money trail analysis was carried out. Investigation revealed that the WhatsApp numbers used in the fraud were being operated from Cambodia and the fraudulent investment website had been deactivated after commission of offence.
Investigation further revealed that the cheated money was routed through multiple mule bank accounts opened in the names of shell firms across different states. An amount of ₹6.70 lakhs was traced to a Yes Bank account linked to accused Abhishek R/o Panipat, Haryana, who along with co-accused Harmanjot Singh and Qaisar Masoodi supplied the account to cyber fraud operatives. Raids conducted in Mohali and Panipat led to their apprehension and recovery of incriminating digital evidence regarding commission-sharing and operation of mule accounts.
Further investigation revealed that fraudsters had transferred ₹2.60 lakhs into an Axis Bank account linked to accused Md. Zahid and Amir Malik of Delhi. Raids were conducted at several hideouts, following which accused Md. Zahid and Amir Malik were arrested. During interrogation, it surfaced that the account was operated remotely from Rajasthan through APK-based remote access applications on the instructions of one Salman, enabling foreign cyber fraudsters to clandestinely control banking operations.
The probe further uncovered another major mule account linked to accused Amarjeet Ahirwar and Alok Sharma of Madhya Pradesh through which substantial cheated money was routed. After several raids in Madhya Pradesh, both accused Amarjeet Ahirwar and Alok Sharma were apprehended. During interrogation, they disclosed about Anant Pandey, who was obtaining the accounts from them. Subsequent raids in Madhya Pradesh led to the apprehension of accused Anant Pandey, who was found to be in direct contact with foreign handlers through encrypted WhatsApp communication and was acting as a conduit between Indian mule account suppliers and overseas cyber fraud syndicates linked to Cambodia.
MODUS OPERANDI: Victims were contacted through WhatsApp groups operated using foreign numbers, mainly from Cambodia, and were induced to invest in fake stock trading platforms by showing fabricated profits.
The accused persons opened sham firms and current accounts in various banks and supplied these mule accounts to different syndicates in India for routing cheated money.
The mule accounts were operated remotely through APK files and digital access shared with foreign cyber fraudsters to conceal identity and weaken traceability of cheated funds.The accused persons received commission in exchange for opening, supplying and operating bank accounts used in cyber fraud activities, said Mr.Amit Goel, IPS, DCP, South West Distt., New Delhi.
PROFILE OF ACCUSED:Harmanjot Singh R/o Mohali, Punjab; Education qualification – Diploma in Cyber Security, Qaisar Masoodi R/o Mohali, Punjab; Education qualification – MBA., Abhishek R/o Panipat, Haryana; Education qualification – B. Com., Md. Zahid R/o Jafrabad, Delhi., Amir Malik R/o Jafrabad, Delhi., Amarjeet Ahirwar R/o Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Alok Sharma R/o Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh; Education qualification–B. Tech., Anant Pandey R/o Rewa, Madhya Pradesh; Education qualification– B. Tech.
RECOVERY: : 08 Mobile phones, Banking documents and account records, Commission-sharing records, Digital evidence related to operation of mule accounts
CASE WORKED OUT: e-FIR No. 122/26 dated 20/03/2026 U/s 318 (4)/ 340/319/ 61(2)/ 3(5) BNS, PS Cyber South-West District, New Delhi. More than 60 NCRP complaints linked with the mule accounts (involved in transactions of approximately ₹4.5 crores in just 14 days) under investigation.
Further investigation of the case is in progress.
