Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): A man lost Rs 3 lakh after he was lured by promises of attractive profits in an alleged stock trading scam in Sagda locality of Jabalpur, police said on Saturday.
According to the police, Prashant Kumar Pandey filed a report with the Tilwara police station stating that he works as a surveyor at an under-construction building site in Mangeli.
In August 2025, his mobile number was allegedly added to a WhatsApp group named ‘Aastha Trade Hub’. The group admin claimed to be the CEO of the company.
In September, 2025, the admin instructed Pandey to download an application called ‘ACS Trade’. Following the group admin’s instructions, Pandey initially started by depositing Rs 2,000 twice and saw a simulated purchase of stocks worth Rs 4,164.
Over several dates, the complainant was told to invest a total of Rs 2,94,000. When an IPO of a popular e-commerce company was announced, a woman customer care advisor allegedly associated with the group and who identified herself as Meena Joshi directed Pandey to transfer funds for IPO allotment.
He claimed that he had transferred money online. When Pandey tried to withdraw his money or view his balance, he realized the funds were missing.
Upon further inquiry, he discovered that he had been lured into a fake trading scam designed to embezzle money under the guise of stock market investments.
Based on his complaint, Tilwara police have registered a case under section 318(4) of BNS. The case is under investigation, police said.
