13 arrested over alleged fake SEBI- investment call centre in Maharashtra's Nalasopara

Clients who reported losses were allegedly blacklisted. Thirteen people have been arrested, and police seized items worth ₹8.57 lakh. The probe is ongoing.

A stock-market investment call centre allegedly posed as a SEBI-registered outfit to lure investors with promises of profits, pocketed 30% of the gains and blacklisted clients whose investments suffered losses, the police said. Thirteen people have been arrested after Nalasopara police raided the alleged operation, which was functioning without the required clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

According to the complaint, the callers were supplied with mobile numbers obtained from external sources and used them to approach potential investors. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The accused allegedly operated under the name ‘For Invest 2 Gain Research’ and contacted potential investors using mobile numbers sourced from external agencies. Police seized items worth ₹8.57 lakh during the raid. The 13 arrested accused were produced before a court on Sunday, which remanded them to police custody for three days. A total of 15 people, including a minor, have been named in the complaint.

The case came to light on October 23, when Babarao Dattahari Bhutale, 28, a police officer attached to the cyber cell of Nalasopara police station, received information about the alleged illegal activities. Following instructions from senior officers, a police team raided a room in Nalasopara West, where several people were found speaking to customers over mobile phones, with lists of names and phone numbers placed before them.

During questioning, Sheetal Shyamnarayan Yadav, 27, allegedly identified himself as the manager of the operation. According to the police complaint, callers told prospective investors that ‘For Invest 2 Gain Research’ was registered with SEBI and advised them on investing in various stocks. The police suspect that the claim of SEBI registration was false.

30% of profits allegedly collected

According to the complaint, the callers were supplied with mobile numbers obtained from external sources and used them to approach potential investors. The accused allegedly collected 30% of the profits generated from investments, with a scanner provided by Yadav being used to collect the money.

The operation allegedly had a way of dealing with unhappy clients, too. When investments resulted in losses, the mobile numbers of clients who complained were allegedly added to a blacklist, the complaint states.

The police are also investigating allegations that the accused obtained customers’ bank account details and passwords and used mobile phones or laptops to access accounts and carry out trades linked to the Nifty and Sensex indices.

15 named in complaint

Besides Yadav, the complaint names Dinesh Ramroop Yadav, 35; Rohit Shyamnarayan Yadav, 26; Anuj Saroj Pal, 19; Om Kamlesh Upadhyay, 21; Kushal Jaykumar Gaud, 19; Sundaram Suresh Upadhyay, 20; Shrikant Nagnath Kore, 19; Ash Ramnagina Yadav, 27; Chandan Gopi Raut, 19; Swaroop Rajendra Jadhav, 27; Anand Ramkisun Madeshia, 25; Rohit Mohan Ram, 19; Shyamjit Yadav; and a minor whose identity has been withheld.

The complaint mentions an amount of ₹8.87 lakh. The police, however, said items worth ₹8.57 lakh were seized during the raid.

An FIR has been registered at Nalasopara police station under Sections 316(5), 318(4), 336(3) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery for the purpose of cheating and criminal conspiracy. Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, which deals with cheating by personation using computer resources, has also been invoked. The investigation is ongoing.