The Rajasthan Police’s Cyber Crime Branch apprehended a suspect involved in a major interstate cyber fraud scheme that targeted the corporate sector. The fraudsters exploited the identity of a prominent company’s chairman on WhatsApp to trick the company’s accountant into transferring Rs 5.30 crore to two different bank accounts.
Following technical and financial evidence, the State Cyber Crime Police Station made a significant breakthrough by capturing the suspect in Pune, Maharashtra. Additional Director General of Police (Cyber Crime) Vijay Kumar Singh disclosed that the complainant, Deependra Singh of Galaxy Mining Private Limited, reported the incident on April 27, 2026, through the national cybercrime helpline (1930).
The cybercriminals impersonated the company’s chairman, Deependra Singh Rathore, by using his name and photo to communicate with the accountant via WhatsApp. Posing as the chairman, they provided details of two bank accounts and directed the accountant to urgently transfer funds. Believing the message was authentic, the accountant transferred Rs 5.30 crore through online banking.
The fraudsters employed a sophisticated social engineering tactic by gathering the chairman’s profile picture and other public information to create a WhatsApp account in his name. By seeing the chairman’s name and photo, the accountant fell for the ruse and transferred the funds without suspicion.
A special investigation team, led by DIG (Cyber Crime) Shantanu Kumar Singh and supervised by SP Sumit Mehrada, was formed due to the complexity of the case. Through meticulous analysis of bank accounts and digital transactions, the police identified the suspect as Rahul Ashok (32) from Pune, Maharashtra. With the help of Maharashtra Police, the Rajasthan Police arrested Rahul in Pune and brought him to Jaipur for further inquiry.
During interrogation, Rahul confessed to providing bank accounts to cybercriminals for commissions and aiding in the movement of illicit funds. Initial findings revealed that Rahul, a daily-wage laborer, registered a fake firm under the direction of an individual named Amit Singh in Pune.
