Cyber gang mastermind with international links caught from Chhattisgarh for fraud worth crores
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The cyber crime unit of Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) arrested the mastermind of an international cyber fraud gang from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. The gang was exposed after a retired army officer from Dehradun lost Rs 34.17 lakh in 2024 in a fake online trading scam linked to a company named Apollo India Private Equity (IV) (Mauritius) Limited.
The accused, Har Vilas Nandi, operated accounts created in Dubai and linked to emails accessed from the Philippines, the deputy superintendent of police of the STF’s cyber crime unit Ankush Mishra said. He informed that the gang ran fake trading groups on WhatsApp and Telegram, luring people to invest through fraudulent apps. Investigation revealed that over Rs 3.46 crore was transacted through his bank account in a single month. The money was later withdrawn in Dubai through third-party accounts. He informed that Nandi had been hiding in the Naxal-affected Dantewada region to evade arrest.
The STF tracked him using technical surveillance and arrested him once he resurfaced in Bhilai. Foreign currency from the UAE, Oman and the US, a UAE residential card, Aadhaar, PAN, ATM card and a mobile phone were recovered from him. Mishra stated that the accused’s account had 37 fraud complaints registered across India.
He confessed to working as a supervisor at a steel plant and buying bank accounts from labourers for Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh to carry out fraud. Further investigation is underway, the DSP said. He advised the public to avoid suspicious online investment offers and report cyber fraud immediately to the 1930 helpline.
