Two Nashik cousins held for routing funds in ₹89 lakh cyber fraud

Two Nashik cousins were arrested for aiding cyber fraudsters in an ₹89 lakh share trading scam that duped a Goregaon resident.

Mumbai: Two cousins from Nashik were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly allowing cyber fraudsters to use their bank accounts in a share trading scam that duped a Goregaon resident of ₹89 lakh.

Two Nashik cousins held for routing funds in ₹89 lakh cyber fraud

According to the police, the accused, identified as Yogeshwar Jagannath Kuthe and Hrishikesh Bhagwat Kuthe, allegedly shared their bank account details with cyber fraudsters to facilitate the transaction of cheated funds. Around ₹51 lakh of the fraud amount was routed through their accounts. The complainant, Rajasekharan Harikrishnan, 54, a former senior vice president at a private company, had been at home since January 2026. He came across an advertisement on social media, related to share trading and was added to a WhatsApp group with over 150 members.

Members of the group regularly shared stock market tips and claimed high returns on investments. The complainant was contacted by persons identifying themselves as “Professor Sanjeev Das” and his associates, Sania Gupta and Karan Verma, who advised him to invest in specific stocks through a trading application they provided. To gain his confidence, they shared what appeared to be professional profiles and investment credentials, said a police officer.

He was then instructed to open an account through their fraud application. Between February 10 and March 6, the complainant invested ₹89 lakh through the application. However, when he later attempted to withdraw part of the supposed profits, he was told that the accounts had been frozen due to a SEBI inquiry. He then realised that the money—kept aside for a property purchase—had been fraudulently transferred out of his bank account, he added.

The complainant then discovered that the funds had been transferred out of his account. Despite repeated inquiries, he failed to receive a response from the individuals involved, prompting him to approach the North Region cyber police. The police investigation revealed that ₹51 lakh of the cheated amount had been transferred to a bank account in Nashik, which led the police to the two accused in Pimpalgaon in Niphad taluka. The duo was arrested and produced before a Borivali court, which remanded them to two days’ police custody.