Mumbai, October 5, 2026: The Property Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 36-year-old software developer and BTech dropout from Madhya Pradesh for allegedly developing and selling malicious Android Application Package (APK) files that were used by cybercrime gangs to dupe thousands of people across the country. The accused identified as Pankaj Gupta (35).
Senior Citizen Duped Of Rs 5.62 Lakh
According to police, the investigation was initiated following a complaint registered at Byculla Police Station after a 72-year-old senior citizen was allegedly cheated of Rs 5.62 lakh. On August 13, the victim received a call from an unknown person who posed as Dinesh Kumar, a senior manager of the Bank of India.
The caller allegedly offered to help the victim obtain a senior citizen card and gained his confidence. The accused subsequently sent him an APK file named “Senior Citizen Card Verification.apk” on WhatsApp and instructed him to enter his personal and debit card details. Soon after, Rs 5.62 lakh was allegedly siphoned off from the victim’s bank account.
A case was registered at Byculla Police Station under Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The Property Cell of the Crime Branch conducted a parallel investigation, following which the case was transferred to the Crime Branch.
Developer Traced To Madhya Pradesh
During the investigation, the police conducted an in-depth technical analysis of the APK file and traced its developer to Madhya Pradesh. The 36-year-old accused, who is a software developer and a third-year BTech dropout, was subsequently arrested.
Police also conducted a raid at the accused's office in Madhya Pradesh, during which they seized a pen drive, CPU, three hard disks, a Wi-Fi router and three mobile phones. Preliminary technical analysis of the seized devices revealed that the accused had been using servers obtained from various server service provider companies.
2,805 Malicious APKs Developed
According to the police, the accused had developed and sold 2,805 malicious APK files to different cybercrime gangs. These applications were allegedly designed for various fraudulent schemes, including senior citizen card verification, pension card verification, life certificate verification and other banking-related frauds.
Investigators have found that these 2,805 APK files were allegedly used to defraud 9,673 people across India. As many as 1,074 complaints were registered on the national cybercrime helpline 1930, including 143 from Maharashtra and 36 from Mumbai.
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Investigation Into Cybercrime Networks
The complaints linked to the APKs account for an estimated financial loss of Rs 15.75 crore. Police have so far identified 88 cases across India, including eight in Maharashtra and five in Mumbai.
The overall investigation is underway to identify and apprehend other members of the cybercrime networks who allegedly purchased and used the malicious APK files to target victims.
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