4 arrested by Navi Mumbai cops for tricking victims with fake trading apps

Navi Mumbai police arrested four in two online investment scams totaling ₹4.56 crore, involving fraudulent gold and forex trading schemes.

NAVI MUMBAI: The Navi Mumbai cyber police have arrested four accused in connection with two separate online investment scams in which victims were defrauded of ₹4 crore in a “gold trading” hoax and ₹56.27 lakh in a “share and forex trading” one.

4 arrested by Navi Mumbai cops for tricking victims with fake trading apps

The police arrested Kalpesh Kamalakar Shitap (47) for allegedly cheating an investor of ₹4 crore by luring him with promises of high returns through investing in gold trading. The fraud was committed between February 3 and November 22, 2025, during which the accused gained the complainant’s confidence and induced him to transfer money into multiple bank accounts.

A case was registered on January 22, 2026 under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66 (D) of the Information Technology Act after the complainant realised that he had been defrauded.

“The gang targeted the 68-year-old, promising higher returns by connecting with him through Telegram,” said an officer. “For the initial investment of ₹25,000 he was shown to have earned a substantial profit and even managed to withdraw ₹75,000, which made him trust the scamsters. He was then encouraged to make further investments and eventually lost ₹4 crore.”

A technical analysis of bank accounts and mobile numbers led the investigators to Chandanwadi in Thane, where Shitap was arrested on January 28. The police said he was linked to cybercrimes committed across 17 states and had opened several bank accounts with the help of associates exclusively for committing the frauds. He has been remanded to police custody up to January 30.

In the second case, the cyber police arrested three persons in connection with a ₹56.27-lakh share market and forex trading fraud. The accused allegedly cheated the complainant between August 14 and November 19, 2025, by promising unusually high returns on forex trading investments and displaying fabricated profits through a fake trading app.

After the case was registered, a special investigation team was formed. During the probe, the police identified the first-layer beneficiary bank account holder to whom the defrauded amount had been transferred. The account holder, Salim Ahmed Sheikh (43), a resident of Nalasopara East, was taken into custody on January 20, 2026. During interrogation, he revealed that he had provided his bank account to his associate, Mohammed Nabil Haroon, for a commission of ₹2 lakh.

Haroon was later arrested during a raid at a hotel in Dombivli. A further probe led to the arrest of Saddam Ali Ejaz Ahmed (30), a relationship manager at a cooperative bank in Sion, who allegedly facilitated the opening and supply of bank accounts used in the fraud.

During the search of Haroon’s house, the police recovered 17 cheque books of various banks, 10 debit cards, three passbooks, three mobile phones, eight SIM cards, three Aadhaar cards, and 18 empty SIM card packets. Investigations revealed that Haroon rented hotel rooms across Mumbai, Thane and Dombivli to operate bank-linked mobile numbers and email IDs, receive OTPs for transactions and pass them on to accomplices.

The accused in this case were found to be linked to cybercrimes registered across eight states. All three have been remanded to police custody till January 29.