Bhubaneswar: The Cyber Crime and Economic Offences units of the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police have arrested four persons from West Bengal and Jharkhand in connection with multiple cyber fraud cases involving fake investment schemes and malicious APK-based RTO challan scams that duped victims of lakhs of rupees, police said Thursday.
The accused were identified as Ayan Nandi, 27 of Nadia district in West Bengal, Allaudin Ansari, 36 of Jamtara district in Jharkhand, and Abhisek Kumar Dash, 21 and Birendra Das, 20, both residents of Deoghar district in Jharkhand. They were arrested by special police teams deputed to West Bengal and Jharkhand and later forwarded to court between May 27 and 28.
According to police, the arrests were made in connection with three separate cases registered at the Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Police Station, Bhubaneswar. In Case No. 169/2024, a retired government servant was allegedly duped of Rs 26 lakh between May and July 2024 after investing in a fake platform named “F29 Avendus Capital Wealth Investment Exchange Academy” in the name of IPO shares. The victim was promised returns exceeding Rs 1 crore. Investigation revealed that accused Ayan, proprietor of M/S Nandi Technology, received nearly Rs 5 lakh from the fraud amount. Police said his bank account had links to 14 cyber fraud complaints registered across several states.
In another case, No. 171/2025, fraudsters allegedly cheated a victim of Rs 7 lakh through a fake RTO challan APK file scam reported in September 2025. Four members of the Jamtara gang had earlier been arrested in Hyderabad in April this year. Police later apprehended Allaudin from Jharkhand for his alleged role in arranging mule bank accounts and circulating malicious APK files among fraudsters. Investigators said the gang earned commissions through mule account distribution and redeemed fraud money using gift cards for online purchases. Ansari was also found linked to an NDPS case registered at Karmatand police station in Jharkhand.
In Case No. 07/2026, a victim lost over Rs 39.21 lakh after clicking on a suspicious WhatsApp link, which allegedly enabled hackers to access banking details through malware APK files. Police said Abhisek and Birendra, along with their associates, created and distributed fraudulent APK files using an application named “Protect Bot”. The malware links were allegedly circulated through Telegram channels after being renamed to appear legitimate.
Fraudsters reportedly earned around Rs 2,000 for every successful APK installation by unsuspecting users, with daily targets ranging from 10 to 40 downloads. During searches, police seized mobile phones, a laptop and printouts of online conversations and documents related to APK file preparation, sale and financial transactions. Police said efforts are underway to trace other absconding associates involved in the racket.
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