A Pune-based IT professional in his 40s signed up on a dating platform last year, and he connected with the profile of a woman named Anamika, ironically, a word that means “anonymous”.
Their online conversations quickly grew into what seemed like a genuine relationship, and soon, talks of marriage followed.
But the connection, which appeared to promise a shared future, turned out to be an elaborate cyber scam in which he was allegedly duped of a staggering Rs 1.55 crore over eight months.
The investigation revealed that the cybercriminals, operating behind the profile of ‘Anamika,’ gradually gained the complainant’s trust and allegedly requested large sums of money. On the pretence of building a future together, ‘Anamika’ allegedly convinced him to transfer funds to purchase a house without ever having met.
Over time, the scammers further manipulated him into investing in various trading apps, luring him with promises of exceptionally high returns, said the police.
After spending nearly all his life savings and facing further demands for more money, he realised he had been deceived. When he tried to recover his funds, ‘Anamika’ allegedly abruptly stopped all communication with him. The police filed an FIR in March based on his complaint.
The investigation by the cybercrime police station in Pimpri Chinchwad unearthed an elaborate network of mule account handlers allegedly operating from Solapur and with links to cybercriminals masterminding these scams from China.
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The police zeroed in on one particular mule account registered in Solapur in June. As the account holder was questioned, he spilled the beans on three others from Solapur who had allegedly told him that his bank account would be used for taking funds obtained from gaming applications. As the investigation dug deeper into these three suspects, the police established their identities and roles in the racket.
The mule account handlers from Solapur have been identified as Shubham Chandrakant Mantha, 25, a resident of Ashok Chowk; Swapnil Chandulal Baheti, 35, a resident of Hotgi Road; and Prashik Uttam Navghare, 26, a resident of Juna Kumbhani Naka.
“Our investigation revealed that Mantha worked for a China-headquartered payment application company, and he and Baheti were in direct contact with the masterminds based out of China. A coordinated search operation was launched for the trio as their roles were confirmed in the probe,” an officer who was part of the probe said.
In the second week of June, Mantha and Navghare were arrested from Pune International Airport when they were about to flee to Nepal via Patna. Baheti, too, was placed under arrest.
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“Investigation revealed an elaborate mule handling and fund siphoning operation with direct links to China,” said an officer. All three suspects are currently in judicial custody.
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