ACCUSED DUPED PUBLIC ON THE PRETEXT OF INVESTMENT, 0 HIGH-TECH MOBILE PHONES CONTAINING DETAILS OF MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS RECOVERED, RAIDS CONDUCTED IN 4 STATES TO BUST THE GANG, GANG HAS LINKAGES WITH KINGPIN OPERATING FROM CAMBODIA, 63 NCRP COMPLAINTS FOUND LINKED, ₹4 CRORE DEPOSITED IN MULE ACCOUNT IN 14 DAYS
Face2News/New Delhi
Team of Cyber Police Station, South West District, New Delhi has successfully unearthed and busted an inter-state investment fraud syndicate, leading to the arrest of 8 accused persons namely Vanapatla Sunil (43 yrs), Sakinala Shankar (61 yrs), Manoj Yadav (38 yrs), Sandeep Singh @ Lankesh (30 yrs), Aditya Pratap Singh (23 yrs), Rahul (30 yrs), Sheru (38 yrs) and Sompal (34 yrs) from multiple states.
The syndicate was supplying cheated funds to handlers operating from Cambodia through Indian mule accounts on commission basis. The operation resulted in the recovery of 10 high-tech mobile phones containing details of multiple mule bank accounts.
On 07.11.25, a case e-FIR No. 60/25, U/s 318(4)/319/308/340 BNS was registered at PS Cyber/SWD on the complaint of Ms. A (Age 42 yrs), resident of Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, who was cheated of ₹15.58 lakhs on the pretext of investment. The complainant received WhatsApp messages offering expert guidance in stock trading and was induced by false assurances of guaranteed returns. Manipulated by fake claims, she transferred a total amount of ₹15.58 lakhs to the fraudsters.
INVESTIGATION & ARRESTS: Given the rising trend of investment scams, a dedicated team led by Inspector Pravesh Kaushik (SHO/Cyber PS) comprising SI Chetan Rana, HC Manender, and HC Vijaypal was constituted under the supervision of Sh. Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, ACP/Ops South West District. The team adopted a multifold strategy focusing on surveillance, money trail analysis, and digital forensics. Technical analysis led to the identification of Sunil Vanapatla from Telangana, who supplied mule bank accounts on commission. He was arrested after raids in Telangana.
The syndicate was supplying cheated funds to handlers operating from Cambodia through Indian mule accounts on commission basis. The operation resulted in the recovery of 10 high-tech mobile phones containing details of multiple mule bank accounts.
On sustained interrogation, he disclosed opening a fake firm in Keesara (Telangana) and arranging a current account in AU Small Finance Bank for cyber fraud. His associate Shankar was arrested from Hyderabad, who revealed that he had supplied the same account to Manoj, who had tested the account in Lucknow.
Following raids in UP, Manoj was arrested from Sant Kabir Nagar who disclosed further supply of account to Sandeep Singh who managed account operations in Lucknow. Further raids led to the arrest of Sandeep Singh from Banaras, who disclosed handing over access to Aditya Pratap Singh.
Based on technical surveillance, Aditya Pratap Singh was arrested from Kota (Rajasthan) who arranged mule accounts across India and supplied them to foreign handlers via Telegram. The cheated money was then diverted into Axis Bank & SBI accounts of Sompal and Rahul respectively. Sompal was arrested from Bareilly and Sheru from Paharganj (Delhi).
10 mobile phones along with 13 SIM cards used for operating mule accounts, transferring funds, and communication were recovered. It was also revealed that WhatsApp numbers used to lure victims were being operated from Cambodia, while the Indian accused facilitated mule accounts to park and route fraud money.
MODUS OPERANDI: Fake Investment Platforms: Victims were contacted on WhatsApp using international numbers and pushed to invest through fake stock-trading websites promising high returns. Mule Accounts & Laundering: Fraud proceeds were parked in current mule accounts, then layered through multiple Indian accounts to weaken traceability before being supplied to handlers abroad. Account suppliers, handlers, and cash movers received commissions at each stage.
KNOW THE ACCUSED: Vanapatla Sunil Kumar, Age 43 yrs, R/o Laxmi Nagar, Keesara, Telangana, Sakinala Shankar, Age 61 yrs, R/o Swarnadhama Nagar, Telangana, Manoj Yadav, Age 38 yrs, R/o Hariharpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, UP, Sandeep Singh @ Lankesh, Age 30 yrs, R/o Devrai, Kanakpur, Banaras, UP, Aditya Pratap Singh, Age 23 yrs, R/o Bharat Nagar, Bundi, Rajasthan, Rahul, Age 30 yrs, R/o Motia Khan Chowk, Nabi Karim, Delhi, Sheru, Age 38 yrs, R/o Motia Khan Chowk, Nabi Karim, Delhi and Sompal, Age 34 yrs, R/o Khandelwal Nagar, Bareilly, UP is an MBA graduate and was running a software company. After the business went not operational, he supplied his corporate account to cyber fraudsters for bulk transactions leading to 51 NCRP complaints linked to the account.
RECOVERY: 10 smartphones (used for operating mule bank accounts & transfer of duped money) along with 13 SIM Cards
CASE WORKED OUT e-FIR No. 60/2025, U/s 318(2)/ 308/319/340/61(2) BNS, PS Cyber South West, New Delhi, 63 NCRP Complaints Linked
Further investigation is under progress, said, Amit Goel, IPS, DCP, South West Distt., New Delhi.