Faridabad man duped of ₹2.23-crore; one held

The suspect impersonating a Mumbai crime branch official had called the surgeon on WhatsApp on June 26, 2024 and threatened to arrest him on grounds that his accounts were used for money laundering, said police.

A 38-year-old Gujarat resident was arrested on Thursday for his alleged involvement in a ₹2.23-crore cyber fraud duping an octogenarian cardiac surgeon and his wife — residents of Faridabad Sector 39, police said on Saturday.

Vijay Kumar Amrut Lal Thakkar, a resident of Gujarat’s Deesa worked for a cyber fraud gang being run by Chinese nationals operating from Cambodia. (Archives)

Vijay Kumar Amrut Lal Thakkar, a resident of Gujarat’s Deesa worked for a cyber fraud gang being run by Chinese nationals operating from Cambodia. He was arrested from Deesa.

Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, said Thakkar’s prime role was to get mule accounts opened via various people across India and give its access to the gang members in Cambodia. He had got a current account opened on the basis of a shell company with IDFC bank in Solan, Himachal Pradesh through another accused Chaman Lal.

Police said the suspect impersonating a Mumbai crime branch official had called the surgeon on WhatsApp on June 26, 2024 and threatened to arrest him on grounds that his accounts were used for money laundering.

Yadav said that out of the total duped money, ₹39 lakh was credited into the IDFC account. “Rest was credited into two more current accounts opened fraudulently with private banks. These three mule accounts were accessed from Cambodia to further transact the couple’s money into various accounts,” he said.

“Thakkar received 5% commission every time an amount duped from a victim was credited into the accounts provided by him,” the police officer said.

Investigators said that besides Thakkar, seven other accused involved in the fraud were arrested from different parts of the country including Chaman from Rampur in Himachal Pradesh.

Police said they had managed to seize ₹1.57 crore of the duped amount and give it back to the surgeon whose identity was withheld for security reasons.