The Mahendergarh Police have busted an interstate gang of cyber fraudsters that duped investors of lakhs of rupees under the guise of attractive stock market returns.
The police have arrested a former deputy bank manager, who is stated to be the mastermind of the gang, from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.
Inspector Surender, SHO, Cyber Crime Police Station, said the investigation was initiated following a complaint by Sundar Kumar, a resident of Jhook village in Mahendragarh district, who had reported receiving WhatsApp calls and messages from individuals posing as Axis Securities officials.
“They convinced him to download a fake trading application and manipulated him into depositing Rs 14,26,050 across various bank accounts between December 22, 2025, and March 11, 2026,” said the SHO.
The victim realised he was being scammed when the fraudulent app displayed a fictitious profit of over Rs 33 crore, and the accused demanded an additional 10 per cent “tax” — approximately Rs 3.34 crore — to process the withdrawal.
Consequently, Kumar lodged a complaint and an FIR was registered at the Cyber Police Station in Narnaul.
During the technical investigation, police traced Rs 6.33 lakh of the defrauded amount to a Central Bank account belonging to a Gwalior-based firm named KKVR Construction Pvt Ltd.
This money was transferred on the very same day to another account in Faridkot, Punjab.
Further probing revealed that the Faridkot account was linked to eight pending cyber-fraud complaints nationwide, including an FIR in Delhi for a Rs 96 lakh fraud.
Curiously, the Delhi victim turned out to be a relative of the Narnaul complainant.
When a police team raided the registered address of the firm in Gwalior, the office was found locked.
Inquiries with the landlord revealed that two youths had rented the premises. However, the rent agreement and affidavit used to open the corporate bank accounts were fabricated and bore forged signatures.
Following that, relevant forgery Sections were added to the case.
Acting on these leads, the cyber police team conducted a raid in Gwalior and arrested the main accused, identified as Pankaj.
Interrogation revealed that Pankaj was a former bank officer with a deep understanding of the financial system.
He has worked as an Assistant Manager at IndusInd Bank, Sales Officer at Axis Bank and Deputy Manager at Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The police maintained that Pankaj and his accomplices registered the fake company, KKVR, and used PhonePe to pay the office rent to maintain their cover.
The police seized 11 cheque books, 15 ATM cards, two SIM cards, four mobile phones, two company stamps and other documents from his possession.
The accused was produced before a local court, which remanded him in police custody.
