Haryana native who defrauded Wayanad trader of ₹77 lakh arrested in Gurugram

Kalpetta: The Wayanad Cyber Police have arrested Vineeth Chadha, 58, a native of Gurugram in Haryana, for defrauding a Wayanad trader of ₹77 lakh by promising profits through online share trading.

The team led by Shaju Joseph zeroed in on Chaddha after tracking his digital devices and bank account details. Once the accused's location was confirmed, the team travelled to Gurugram and arrested him from his residence.

The fraud began when the spice merchant was lured into the trap early this year by a Malayalam-speaking woman who befriended him, posing as a crew member at Hyderabad airport. She told him that she was a bachelor and gradually developed a close relationship with the victim. Later, she persuaded him to invest in an app-based online share-trading platform, claiming she had been earning good profits every month. She not only recommended the platform but also shared its link, helpline numbers, and related contact details.

Trusting her blindly, the trader deposited money in several instalments through the app, transferring the amounts to accounts suggested by the so-called support team. He was promised he could withdraw the money, along with the profits, anytime he wanted.

As the relationship deepened, both exchanged photographs. The man repeatedly tried to meet her, but each time she postponed the meeting, citing one excuse or another.

When the trader attempted to withdraw his investment along with the promised profit, the network went silent. Emails and phone calls went unanswered, the app became inactive, and the woman disappeared.  

After several frantic attempts to contact her, the man finally realised his folly. In July, he registered a complaint on the State Police Cyber Crime Portal, which assigned the Kalpetta wing to investigate.

Inspector Shaju Joseph told Onmanorama that Chadha was a middleman and his bank accounts were used as mule accounts by a larger scam syndicate to route the money to overseas locations. He said the probe revealed ₹3 crore was transferred through Chadh's account. Police believe he was part of a Cambodia-based scam network.

"The amount involved might just be the tip of the iceberg. In most cases, frauds go unreported as the affluent victims, afraid of being shamed in public, do not approach the police," the officer said.

Kalpetta Police revealed Chadha was a habitual offender. Hyderabad Police previously arrested him in a similar case, in which a businessman lost ₹45 lakh. He was remanded for 10 days and released on bail just a few days ago, they said.

Produced before the Kalpetta Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Chadha was remanded to judicial custody on Thursday.

This is the second such case in a week in Wayanad, said cyber sleuths. They arrested Sreeram Bishnoi (28), a native of Bikaner, Rajasthan, on October 22 for siphoning off ₹5 lakh from an IT employee from Padinjarathara in 2024.

The police team that arrested Chadha included Cyber Station Assistant Sub Inspector Rassack, and Senior Civil Police Officers K Abdul Salam, A Ayisha, and VK Sasi.