Mumbai Cyber Police Arrest Man In ₹91 Lakh Senior Citizen Fraud Case

Mumbai: The North Region Cyber Police has arrested a 49-year-old man for allegedly cheating a retired senior citizen of ₹91 lakh by threatening her with arrest in a fake money laundering case. The accused, identified as Karan Suresh Kansaria (49), was allegedly providing bank accounts to cyber fraudsters to facilitate fraudulent transactions. Police investigation revealed that a portion of the cheated amount was routed through his own bank account. He is currently in police custody and is being interrogated.

According to police sources, the fraudsters also invoked the name of encounter specialist Daya Nayak during the scam to intimidate the victim.

The victim, Raksha Dilip Mehta (63), a resident of Dahisar, survives on her pension after retirement. On February 18, she received a call from a person identifying himself as “Ajay Patil,” claiming to be a police officer from Indiranagar Police Station in Bengaluru.

He asked her to join a video call, during which she saw a man dressed in a police uniform. The caller told her that during a raid, police had arrested a person named Sadafat Khan, and several Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and debit cards were recovered including one allegedly linked to her. The fraudster claimed that her bank account was involved in money laundering transactions worth ₹3 crore and that she had received a commission of ₹75,000.

Despite the victim denying any connection, the fraudsters continued to interrogate her between February 18 and February 24. They extracted details about her investments, assets, and family members. She was told that the case was being investigated by Daya Nayak and that he would personally question her. Later, another caller posing as Nayak threatened her with arrest if she did not cooperate.

The fraudsters instructed her not to share any information and falsely claimed that she was under constant surveillance. They even sent her documents bearing fake government seals to appear legitimate. Under immense pressure and fear of arrest, the victim broke her fixed deposits and transferred ₹85 lakh along with additional savings, totaling ₹91 lakh, to bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.

The ordeal caused severe mental distress, and she reportedly even contemplated suicide but eventually decided to comply with the investigation.

On March 15, her daughter Kriti Mehta visited her and learned about the incident. She immediately informed her mother that police never conduct such online interrogations and advised her to file a complaint.

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Following this, the victim approached the cyber helpline and lodged a complaint with the North Region Cyber Police Station. A case was registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and IT Act. Under the guidance of senior officers, a team led by Police Inspector Sunil Lokhande, Assistant Police Inspector Sandeep Panchagane, and other officers traced the bank accounts where the money was transferred.

During the probe, it was found that a portion of the funds had been routed through the bank account of Karan Kansaria. He was subsequently detained from Bhayandar and later arrested. During interrogation, Kansaria admitted that he had provided his bank account to cyber fraudsters and transferred the the amount received to them in exchange for commission. He was produced before a Borivali court, which remanded him to police custody. Police have identified more suspects in the case and have launched a special operation to trace and arrest them. Police are further probing the case to uncover the larger cyber fraud network and track the remaining accused.

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