Rs 1.59 crore cyber fraud: Two land in Abohar police net

A team from the cyber police station in Sriganganagar has arrested two individuals from Bhopal (MP) in connection with Rs 1.59 crore cyber fraud involving a farmer, Sohan Singh, and his wife, Jaswinder Kaur.

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DSP Kuldeep Walia confirmed the arrests of Piyush Nayak (22) and Ishan Baghel (23) from Manish Market, Bhopal. The duo is believed to be a key link in this cyber fraud. Ishan had previously worked in a job placement and contractual work in Bhopal, and Piyush, his friend, became involved in the scheme. The two came into contact with Rohan Bhavsar and Saif Ali Khan in June-July, who masterminded the fraud.

At the direction of Rohan and Saif Ali, Piyush and Ishan set up a fake company, PN Trading Company, and opened a bank account in the firm’s name. The bank passbook, ATM card, and the SIM card linked to the account were handed over to Rohan and Saif Ali.

According to the police, the fraud unfolded after the fake bank account was opened in July. Between November 13-15, a total of Rs 1,59,960 was transferred from the accounts of Jaswinder Kaur and Sohan Singh to the fraudulent bank account. In just three days, Rs 5 crore was fraudulently transferred from 10 bank accounts into Piyush and Ishan’s firm. In return, Piyush and Ishan received Rs 2.75 lakh.

The police are now searching for Rohan and Saif Ali, who remain at large. Earlier, three suspects—Mohit Soni, Kishan Singh Rajawat, and Ajay Prajapat, all from Jaipur, were arrested. Police revealed that Rajawat had provided Soni and Prajapat’s account details to the fraudsters in exchange for Rs 10,000 each. On November 16, Rs 5 lakh was deposited into both Soni and Prajapat’s accounts. The two were then taken to the bank by Rajawat, where they withdrew the funds and handed them over to him. However, Rajawat only paid them Rs 7,000 each.

Sohan Singh, who had recently sold immovable property, reported the incident to the police last month, claiming he was “digitally arrested” by callers pretending to be CBI officials. Sohan later realized that he and his wife were duped out of Rs 1.59 crore in this elaborate “digital arrest” scam.