Warning: Cyber Fraud Network Spreading in Bhopal (Photo Source: Patrika)

BHOPAL: Cyber criminals in the capital of Madhya Pradesh have defrauded a 60-year-old man of Rs 1 crore 6 lakh 60 thousand by luring him with the promise of heavy profits in the share market and IPOs. The Cyber Crime Police have registered a case against unidentified accused and initiated an investigation.

The Initial Contact
According to Investigating Officer Raman Sharma, the complainant, Lakhan Lal Uikey, a resident of the Adhunik Gruh Nirman Sahakari Sansthan in Barkhedi Surjanagar, received a message from an unknown mobile number on 20 April 2025.
The sender, a woman identifying herself as Ishita, claimed to be an assistant at a company called "Zerodha Success Hub". Following this, the complainant was added to a WhatsApp group created under the name of Zerodha Success Hub.

Trapped by the Bait of Profits
The operators of the group claimed that their team specialised in bulk trading and IPO investment, offering investors up to 10 per cent profit daily. After watching the group's activities for several days, Lakhan Lal made an investment.
The accused sent him a link to register and made him download a trading app named "Bat Vikite". After this, he was made to log in by creating an ID and password.

Initial Investment: The complainant initially invested Rs 1 lakh.
The Deception: The investment amount and alleged profits began appearing in the app, which increased his trust.
The Escalation: Following this, the accused lured him with the bait of providing large shares at low prices after the stock market closed, as well as pre-listing IPO shares. The fraudsters then claimed to allocate more shares of multinational companies and made him deposit Rs 7.51 lakh.

How the Fraud was Executed
Following a systematic plan, the fraudsters continuously made him invest money by showing share purchases and higher profits, pitching different plans including Rs 12 lakh, Rs 2 lakh, Rs 3 lakh, and Rs 5 lakh. Throughout this entire process, they had the 60-year-old transfer Rs 1,06,60,023 across 10 different bank accounts.
Modus Operandi:
According to the complaint, more than 100 mobile numbers, a fake trading app, and multiple bank accounts were utilised for the fraud.
The cyber criminals had the amount transferred in different instalments into various accounts.

Fraud Exposed During Withdrawal Attempt
The matter came to light when the complainant tried to withdraw his investment amount and profit, and more money was demanded from him. The fraudsters told him that if full payment for the allocated shares was not made, the previously deposited amount would not be returned either.
When he suspected the intentions of the fraudsters, he tried to contact the group admin and other members, but no one's phone could be reached. The investigation is ongoing.