Trading app trap: Wayanad merchant conned of ₹77 lakh, UP youth held

Kalpetta: The Wayanad Cyber Police on Sunday arrested a native of Uttar Pradesh for siphoning off ₹77 lakh from a Wayanad resident through a fake online trading app. The accused, Akash Yadav (25), hails from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. He was taken into custody from Visakhapatnam by a team led by Cyber Police Station Inspector Shaju Joseph.

Earlier, the team had arrested Vineeth Chadha (58), a resident of Gurugram, Haryana, in connection with the case. Police tracked the digital devices and bank accounts he used for the fraudulent transactions, following which he was arrested from his residence in Gurugram.

According to police, a Malayalam-speaking woman—allegedly part of the racket—befriended the victim, a spice merchant from Wayanad, by posing as a cabin crew member at Hyderabad airport. Their communication through social media began early this year. The woman sent the victim a link to download a fake online trading app and convinced him to invest, claiming she had earned huge profits through the platform.

The victim deposited money into the bank accounts provided by the woman, who promised substantial returns. Each week, he received profit reports and regular text messages. His online passbook also reflected large gains, giving him no reason to doubt the scheme.

Encouraged by the apparent profits, he continued investing. But when he attempted to withdraw the entire amount along with the profits, the woman persuaded him to keep investing. Despite his repeated requests to withdraw, the system — including mobile numbers, the website, and WhatsApp groups — suddenly went defunct. Only then did he realise he had been duped.

Following this, he lodged a complaint with the Cyber Police. Preliminary investigation traced the woman’s social media account to Cambodia.

The police cracked the racket after arresting Chadha from Haryana. Based on information obtained during his interrogation, the probe team arrested Akash Yadav, who had allegedly sourced bank accounts belonging to poor individuals for use in the racket’s transactions. Police later discovered that Visakhapatnam police had previously arrested Yadav in another cybercrime case. By the time the Wayanad team arrived with a warrant from the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Kalpetta, he had been released on bail. However, the cyber wing tracked his number and detained him from Visakhapatnam.

During interrogation, Yadav admitted to working for a cybercrime racket based in New Delhi. More members of the group are at large and will be arrested soon, police said.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate Court here has remanded Yadav to 14 days’ judicial custody.