Bhubaneswar: Odisha Police Thursday arrested a woman from Delhi for her alleged involvement in a Rs 87-lakh cyber fraud case, an official said.
The accused, identified as Vandana Bawa, will be brought to Odisha on transit remand after being produced at a local court in the national capital, the official said.
The arrest was made on the basis of a complaint lodged by a private firm employee of Bhubaneswar, who was allegedly duped by the accused, he said.
As per the complaint, the victim was first added to an unknown WhatsApp group named ‘101 Stock Discussion Group’.
The fraudsters, on the pretext of providing stock trading tips, IPO guidance, and investment strategies, manipulated the victim into registering on two shared web links.
They gradually gained his trust and persuaded him to deposit a total amount of around Rs 87 lakh into various bank accounts of fraudsters through multiple transactions on different dates.
After an investigation, the crime branch team led by Additional Superintendent of Police Ritesh Kumar Mohapatra arrested Bawa, the perpetrator of the crime, police said.
A mobile phone, two SIM cards, an Aadhar card and a PAN card were seized from the accused. Police have already frozen several bank accounts of the fraudsters, recovered and refunded an amount of Rs 10 lakh to the complainant, the official said.
From records, it has been ascertained that the same accused is also involved in two more cyber incidents in Kerala and Gujarat. Investigation of the case is under progress, he said.
“Our team will unearth other accomplices of this crime, its trans-India ramification and the money trail,” he added.
PTI
