Kannur Police, investigating the ₹4.432-crore swindle of a 73-year-old doctor, have arrested an onion trader -- who, beneath his humble facade, was farming mule accounts for a cyber-fraud network based abroad.

The arrested man has been identified as Zainul Abidin (41) of Arakkapady in Ernakulam's Vengola panchayat. Earlier, the special squad, led by Assistant Commissioner Jacob M T, had nabbed Rijaz, a native of Perumbavoor, and Mehbubasha Farooq of Chennai in connection with the case. The two are tile masons in Chennai.

All three arrested are small fries in a global scam, said Inspector Mahesh Kandambeth, a member of the squad. Together, the three pocketed only ₹1.7 lakh out of the ₹4,43,20,000 siphoned from the gynaecologist through a fake online trading scheme between April and June.

Rijaz and Farooq got involved when Rijaz came to Ernakulam for Abidin’s daughter’s wedding. Abidin offered him ₹50,000 if he could arrange a bank account with City Union Bank. Rijaz, with Farooq’s help, roped in Senthil Kumar, an unemployed man who loitered outside TASMAC liquor outlets in Chennai. 

"Senthil was promised ₹5,000 to open an account and hand over the internet banking credentials, debit card, and SIM card linked to it to Abidin," said Inspector Kandambeth.

Police obtained CCTV footage showing Rijaz, Farooq, and Senthil Kumar opening the account at City Union Bank.

The gynaecologist, who retired from government service 13 years ago, had transferred ₹40 lakh into this account in two instalments of ₹20 lakh each.

Abidin was caught on CCTV at an ATM kiosk in Arakkapady withdrawing money from the account. "He withdrew ₹1.2 lakh in two transactions, his fee for arranging the mule account," said the inspector.

Of the ₹4.432 crore swindled, police have so far managed to freeze ₹36 lakh across multiple accounts. Most of the money has already been moved out of India, officers said.

Senthil was not arrested, as he had no knowledge of the scam and never received the promised ₹5,000.

Doctor ignored bank’s warning
The people who swindled the doctor were not the mule account operators. "Contacts were made by fraudsters sitting abroad," said Inspector Mahesh Kandambeth, who is also the Kannapuram Station House Officer.

In April, the doctor received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number promising 500% to 800% returns on stock investments. Financially secure and already dabbling in online trading, he took the bait.

The scamster introduced himself as Kapil Jaikalyani, a senior executive at Upstox, an online brokerage run by RKSV Securities. The doctor recognised the name and downloaded the official Upstox app. But he was also persuaded to install a separate "wallet" app that displayed fabricated purchases, inflated asset values, and soaring profits.

"The doctor was told they were institutional buyers, getting stocks at half price, and that's why they could promise such high returns," said Inspector Kandambeth.

Each time he followed their advice, he was instructed to deposit money into random bank accounts, never through the Upstox app.

At first, he transferred ₹1 lakh to 2 lakh through Canara Bank's Mattannur branch. Bank staff and the manager repeatedly warned him he was being cheated, but he ignored them.

Soon, his transfers escalated to ₹17 lakh and ₹20 lakh in a single transaction. "When the manager persisted with the warnings, he simply shifted to another branch and used RTGS," the officer said.

Over April, May, and June, he made around 33 transactions into 18 different accounts. The fake wallet showed his investments ballooning to ₹56 crore. "He was elated. He even invested his wife's money and that of fellow doctors after showing them the profits in his wallet," said the inspector.

But when he attempted to withdraw, the fraudsters said 15% of the profit was their commission, demanding ₹8.4 crore upfront to release ₹56 crore. He didn't have that much, but still raised another ₹30 lakh in fresh transfers, chasing the illusion.

He realised the crores in his wallet were nothing but numbers on a screen only when every attempt to cash out was met with fresh demands.