National-level shooter nabbed in Rs 40L cyber fraud case
Was involved in multi-layered racket; further probe on
The Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a national-level shooter and medal-winning sportsperson for his alleged involvement in a multi-layered cyber fraud racket that duped a person of over Rs 40 lakh, officials said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Himanshu Chauhan, alias Shooter, a resident of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested in connection with an e-FIR registered at the Cyber Cell police station in north-west Delhi.
According to the police, the victim in the case was cheated of Rs 40.27 lakh through fraudulent online gaming platforms and fake stock trading and IPO investment schemes.
The police said Chauhan, despite his sporting background and achievements at national and state-level shooting championships, misused his influence and network to facilitate cyber-enabled financial crimes. During the investigation, it was found that the victim was induced to transfer money through IMPS, NEFT and UPI transactions. On a single day, June 20, 2025, Rs 8 lakh was transferred to a mule Axis Bank account linked to the syndicate.
An analysis of the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) revealed at least 40 linked complaints and two FIRs registered in Bengaluru and Mumbai against the same bank account, indicating the pan-India spread of the fraud network, the police said.
Sustained interrogation of previously arrested co-accused revealed that Chauhan played a key role in the syndicate by arranging mule bank accounts to receive proceeds of cyber fraud. He allegedly persuaded individuals to open and provide bank accounts in return for a commission of Rs 1 lakh per account.
The police said he acted as a crucial link between account providers and higher-level cyber operators, passing on such accounts to another associate based in Agra for further routing and layering of the cheated money.
The arrest followed an intensive multi-state operation involving advanced technical analysis, financial trail mapping, NCRP data correlation and discreet surveillance at multiple locations in Agra. Despite frequently changing locations to evade arrest, Chauhan was tracked and apprehended using real-time technical inputs and ground intelligence, officials said.
A police team led by Inspector Sandeep Singh and supervised by ACP Anil Sharma carried out the operation. Further investigation is underway to identify additional mule accounts, trace the complete money trail, coordinate with police agencies in other states and recover the proceeds of crime, the Crime Branch said.
