Mumbai: The city crime branch has arrested the key accused in a case where two women, including a Thane businesswomen, were cheated of Rs 5.5 crore by offering huge returns through an investment scheme linked to a corporate.
Police arrested Mohammed Alam alias Kabir (34) from Kolkata and are looking for his six accomplices — Sumona Chaterji, P P Bhowmik, Prakash Agarwal, Sanjay Rojoria, Siddhart Singhvi and Bharat Seth. Kabir was produced before the Barrackpore court, which granted a four-day transit remand.
The complainants, Jagruti Vikam (57) from Thane and her associate Anuja Tipnis, alleged that in Oct 2023, Sumona lured them to make an initial investment of Rs 1 crore. Over the next few months, they deposited more funds, eventually totaling Rs 5.5 crore, across various transactions facilitated through traditional couriers and cryptocurrency. Each time, the accused provided false assurances, citing issues such as incomplete transactions or the absence of necessary approvals.
“In order to extract more money from the victims, the gang made a WhatsApp group and more people were added. The accused posed as officials of the corporate,” said an officer. Police said they are in the process of ascertaining the total number of victims in this fraud.
