PANAJI
A 23-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a Rs 1.41 crore cyber fraud in which a Valpoi resident was allegedly cheated through a fake matrimonial profile and a fraudulent forex trading platform.
Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime) Rahul Gupta identified the accused as Rushabh Hanvate, a resident of Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Police said the accused, along with his associates, used multiple WhatsApp numbers, a Telegram user ID and a matrimonial website ‘Indian Muslim Free Matrimonial Site’ to lure the complainant. A woman identifying herself as “Samsiyabegaum” allegedly befriended the victim through the matrimonial platform and later persuaded him to invest in a purported forex trading scheme by promising high returns.
“On the false promise of high profits, the complainant was induced to transfer a total of Rs 1,41,64,894 through multiple transactions to different bank accounts. The accused cheated the complainant through impersonation and the unlawful use of computer resources,” Gupta said.
Following a detailed technical and financial investigation, the accused was traced to Nagpur and arrested by a team from the Cyber Crime Police Station, Goa.
The SP said Rs 9.99 lakh was credited to the accused’s bank account at the first layer, which was later routed to multiple accounts linked to associates. Further analysis revealed the same account was connected to at least 19 other cyber fraud cases reported across the country.
“The accused has been produced before the court and remanded to police custody. Further investigation is underway, and a request has been sent to block the fraudulent website,” the officer said.
