Mumbai: Woman duped of Rs 1.67 cr over promise of share trade profits

A police official on Thursday said that a 50yearold woman was duped of Rs 167 crore by online fraudsters who promised her high returns from share trading and IPO subscriptions reported news agency PTIThe woman who is freelance consultant living in Lokhandwala Complex in Kandivali East was duped between February 2 and March 14 this year he addedOn Wednesday she approached North Region Cyber Police Station and lodged a complaint after which a case was registered against four unidentified fraudsters The woman has told police she is active on various social media platforms including Instagram On February 2 she received an advertisement of share trading with a link on Instagram he said reported PTIShe clicked the link and was added to a WhatsApp group The accused claimed to be working in one TradeSmart company involved in share trading block trading and IPO subscriptions She deposited Rs 167 crore but later realised she had been cheated A case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act he added reported PTIInvestors duped of Rs 123 cr in share trading fraud in Thane district 3 bookedIn another incident a 60yearold man and eight others from Maharashtras Thane district allegedly lost Rs 123 crore to fraudsters who lured them to invest in share trading promising him lucrative returns police said on Friday reported PTIBased on a complaint the police have registered a case against three persons under sections 3184 cheating 3162 criminal breach of trust and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors MPID Act an official saidAccording to the police the alleged fraud occurred between November 2023 and March 2025The official said the accused Aniket Muzumdar 35 Sandesh Joshi 43 and Sanket Joshi 36 all residents of Dombivli ran an investment advisory firm and conducted share market training sessions reported PTIThe trio allegedly lured victims by promising high and assured returns through strategic investments in the stock market he saidThe accused projected themselves as experts and built trust among the victims by conducting formal training and offering professional advice the official said reported PTIHe said the victims collectively invested Rs 123 crore and when they started asking for returns or the refund of their principal amounts the accused allegedly avoided their calls and gave evasive responsesA probe is underway to trace the accused and recover the defrauded amount the official said adding that more such victims might emerge during investigationsWith inputs from PTI