3 held for ₹6.25-L cyber fraud using fake Mahanagar Gas APK

MUMBAI: Three men allegedly posing as Mahanagar Gas officials used a fake gas-meter reading request to gain access to the phones and bank accounts of two Kandivali residents, siphoning ₹6

MUMBAI: Three men allegedly posing as Mahanagar Gas officials used a fake gas-meter reading request to gain access to the phones and bank accounts of two Kandivali residents, siphoning ₹6.25 lakh that police say was later used to repay the accused’s own gold loan and recover pledged jewellery. Kandivali police traced the money trail to Gujarat and arrested the trio.

The accused have been identified as Urvishkumar Rajeshbhai Patel, Janikumar Pradipbhai Patel and Ankitkumar Sanjaybhai Patel. They were arrested in Olpad village in Surat district, Gujarat, after police traced the financial transactions linked to the alleged fraud.

In one of the cases, complainant Bakul Kantilal Desai was contacted by unidentified persons who told him that his gas-meter reading needed to be uploaded. They allegedly sent him an APK file purportedly belonging to Mahanagar Gas and instructed him to download it on his mobile phone.

After Desai downloaded the file, the accused allegedly gained access to his phone and transferred ₹2.7 lakh from his bank account, police said. Desai subsequently approached Kandivali police, following which an FIR was registered under Sections 316(2), 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.

A similar method was allegedly used against another victim, Shailesh Jaikishan Parmar. On May 7, 2025, Parmar was allegedly contacted and asked to pay ₹12 for a Mahanagar Gas meter reading. He was then instructed to download an APK file purportedly sent by the gas company.

Police said the file was used to gain access to Parmar’s mobile phone, after which ₹4.17 lakh was allegedly transferred from his savings account. A separate case was registered at Kandivali police station under the relevant provisions of the BNS and Information Technology Act.

As police followed the money trail in the two cases, they allegedly found that the accused had taken a gold loan from Bajaj Finserv. Police suspect the trio used money taken from the victims’ accounts to repay the loan and recover the gold ornaments they had pledged.

The financial trail eventually led police to Olpad village in Surat on Friday, where a Kandivali police team apprehended the three accused. Police arrested them in connection with both cases and brought them to Mumbai on the same day.

Police are now trying to ascertain whether the trio were involved in similar cyber frauds against other victims.