Navi Mumbai: The Panvel City police cyber cell probing a cyber fraud case of online stock market trading scam wherein a retired Border Security Force (BSF) jawan, a Panvel resident, was duped of Rs 19.9 lakh, have arrested an accused 23-year-old youth, a D.Ed student, from Shivpuri town in Madhya Pradesh, who had allegedly opened a mule account for receiving around Rs 2 lakh out of Rs 19.9 lakh of the cyber fraud complainant.PSI Sushant Dudde of Panvel informed that, the arrested accused was identified as Yogendra Lokendra Bais alias Shiva Thakur, who was arrested on July 24 after money trailing the banking transactions and found the accused mule account holder Yogendra Bais had connived with cyber scammers by providing his mule bank account for receiving money of several cyber fraud victims for which he earned commission.The probe has revealed that the arrested accused Bais had used his mule bank account for parking money of several other cyber scam victims with banking transactions of around Rs 10 lakhs, including Rs 2 lakh out of Rs 19.9 lakh received from the complainant. During the probe, we have money trailed several mule accounts in Kareli town of MP, which has emerged as a new hub of cyber crime syndicate and even some mule accounts in Bengaluru city, where the complainant Panvel resident’s money was received by various transaction. Accordingly, the mule bank account holders are being traced.As per the FIR registered on June 8, the complainant identified as Dilip Singh Rajput (44) had taken voluntarily retirement as Border Security Force (BSF) Jawan and currently worked as security guard with Reliance company in south Mumbai. He was defrauded by cyber fraudsters between Nov 12, 2025 and Jan 14, 2026.On Nov 12, 2025, Rajput was added to an unknown WhatsApp group, where there were more than a hundred members. The group admins were advertising about online stock market trading by assuring high returns and claiming that the members promoting the advertisement will earn reward points.The next day, Rajput recieved a Telegram link on his WhatsApp. When he clicked on it, he was added to the Telegram group @Mariam-VIP005, where information was being given about online stock market trading and assuring high returns. The group admins were giving a barcode and an account number for transferring investment amount. Thereafter, Rajput was provided a link that he clicked and was added to a Telegram group @Bharat Bharat-FNFD0001, where his investment amount was being displayed along with his virtual profit.Rajput was able to withdraw Rs 10,000 profit, thus gaining his trust and he continued to invest by trading online as guided in the Telegram link till Jan 14, 2026, when his profit was being displayed virtually on the Telegram link.Thereafter, when he unable to withdraw his profit and questioned the group admins, he was told to transfer more amount for enabling withdrawal. Despite depositing a total of Rs 19.9 lakh, when he was unable to withdraw his profit, he demanded to refund his invested amount. But, he was repeatedly being told to transfer more amount. It was then he realised that he was conned and lodged a police complaint.Accordingly, an FIR was registered at Panvel city police station under BNS section for cheating along with Information Technology Act sections for the offences of punishment for identity theft and cheating by personation using a computer resource or communication device.
