60-year-old duped of ₹1.32 crore in investment scam

According to the FIR, the fraudsters operated a WhatsApp group named ‘601 Dalal Street Expert Forum’ and a Telegram channel titled ‘F03 Bapat Investment Trading Team 6’. The complainant identified the accused as individuals using the names Anant Bapat, Kavya Chaturvedi and Paige Carter, along with other unidentified administrators linked to the investment platform.

Navi Mumbai: A 60-year-old marketing professional from Koparkhairane was allegedly duped of more than ₹1.32 crore by cyber fraudsters who lured him into a fake stock investment scheme through WhatsApp and Telegram groups promising high returns.

60-year-old duped of ₹1.32 crore in investment scam

According to the FIR, the fraudsters operated a WhatsApp group named ‘601 Dalal Street Expert Forum’ and a Telegram channel titled ‘F03 Bapat Investment Trading Team 6’. The complainant identified the accused as individuals using the names Anant Bapat, Kavya Chaturvedi and Paige Carter, along with other unidentified administrators linked to the investment platform.

Police said the fraud began on April 17, when the complainant was added to the WhatsApp group, where members projected themselves as stock market experts and persuaded him to invest in share trading. To gain his confidence, they initially credited small profits to his account.

The victim was then asked to transfer money to multiple bank accounts and monitor his investments through an online portal linked to a website operating under the name NEPC. The portal allegedly displayed inflated profits and growing account balances, giving the impression that the investments were performing well.

Encouraged by the apparent gains, the complainant continued investing over several weeks. However, when he attempted to withdraw his money and profits, the accused allegedly evaded his requests before cutting off all communication. He later realised that the profits shown on the portal were fictitious and that the investment scheme was fraudulent.

Based on his complaint, the Cyber Police registered a case under Sections 318(4)(cheating), 319(2)(cheating by personation) and 3(5)(common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66D(identity theft and impersonation) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.