Mumbai: A retired BEST employee and two of his associates have been arrested by the Cyber Police for operating a mule bank account used to funnel proceeds from cyber frauds.Investigators revealed transactions amounting to Rs 2.54 crore had been routed through the prime accused’s bank account. These are suspected to be proceeds from different online scams operating across the country.The operation came to light while the North Region Cyber Police were investigating a complaint of investment fraud filed by a 62-year-old woman from Goregaon. According to the police, the victim received an unsolicited WhatsApp message in 2025, offering lucrative returns on share market investments. She responded to it and was added to a WhatsApp group where members regularly posted screenshots of “profits” from diverse schemes.Drawn in by the prospect of financial growth, the complainant initially invested small sums and received early returns, which bolstered her confidence in the platform. Over time, he invested Rs 31.5 lakh totally. The fraud unravelled when she attempted to withdraw her funds but could not do so. Realizing she had fallen victim to a scam, she registered a police complaint.As cyber officers traced the beneficiary accounts tied to the transaction trail, a sum of Rs 49,800 was tracked directly to the account of 58-year-old J Kalkari, a retired BEST employee residing in the western suburbs.Subsequent inquiries revealed that Kalkari managed a trust and had been actively seeking financial donors. His acquaintances, Y Solanki and Kunal Maske, promised to help him secure donations. Solanki and Maske, subsequently arranged a meeting at a Mumbai based hotel with a member of a cybercriminals’ syndicate.Kalkari had handed over his banking details to Solanki and Maske who reportedly passed them to the cybercriminal. The account was then used to receive funds scammed from online fraud victims. The amounts were subsequently transferred further to other accounts before being withdrawn. Kalkari was given a commission for renting out his bank account.Police arrested Kalkari, Solanki and Maske after sustained questioning. They have maintained that they are not aware of the true identity of the cybercriminal with whom Kalkari’s banking details were shared.
