Mumbai crime: Man duped of Rs 16.31 lakh through bogus investment platform; RTO agent held

The North Division Cyber Police of the Mumbai Crime Branch have arrested a 30yearold RTO agent for his alleged involvement in an online investment fraud in which a 49yearold Mumbai resident was cheated out of Rs 1631 lakh through a fake share trading platformThe arrested accused has been identified as Faizal Mohammad Hussain Sheikh a resident of Tulsiwadi Tardeo was arrested on May 29 2026 during the investigation of a cyber fraud case registered at the Cyber Police Station North DivisionAccording to police complainant Rizwan Abdul Rehman Sheikh was approached by fraudsters through social media between February and April 2026 The accused allegedly lured him with promises of high returns through stock market investments and added him to a WhatsApp group named lsquoC262Kotak Strategic ConsensusrsquoThe fraudsters posing as investment advisors shared links to a mobile application and a fake trading website They convinced the complainant that other investors were earning substantial profits through share trading Believing the claims the complainant invested money in multiple bank accounts provided by the accused and their associatesInvestigators said the complainant transferred a total of Rs 1631 lakh to various bank accounts between March and April 2026 However when he attempted to withdraw the purported profits the fraudsters allegedly demanded additional payments falsely claiming that his account had been blocked due to money laundering concernsRealising he had been cheated the victim lodged a complaint through the national cyber helpline 1930 following which a case was registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS and the Information Technology ActDuring the investigation cyber police traced the money trail and found that Rs 8 lakh transferred by the complainant on April 10 was immediately diverted to other accounts Further scrutiny revealed that Rs 4 lakh from the defrauded amount had been credited to a bank account and subsequently withdrawn in cashPolice said the investigation led them to Sheikh who was arrested for his alleged role in the fraud During questioning the accused disclosed that the funds were received on the instructions of an associate identified as Yusufbhai However investigators said neither the accused nor his associates have provided satisfactory information regarding the recovery of the cheated amountThe police are also searching for the individuals who created and operated the fake trading website and mobile application as well as unidentified beneficiary account holders who received the siphoned fundsPolice seek custody for further investigationThe Cyber Police have sought four days of police custody of the accused togtgt Recover the cheated amount of Rs 1631 lakhgtgt Investigate the diversion and withdrawal of Rs 4 lakh received in beneficiary accountsgtgt Trace the mobile numbers websitesgtgt Identify and arrest other membersgtgt The investigation is ongoing