MP man arrested for duping Ponda resident of Rs 2.4cr in e-fraud

Panaji: A 50-year-old Madhya Pradesh resident, Neeraj Rai, was arrested by the cybercrime cell of Goa police on Saturday in connection with an alleged online stock market fraud involving over Rs 2.4 crore.
The cybercrime police station registered the offence based on a complaint filed by a Ponda resident.
Cybercrime SP Rahul Gupta said that between Nov 25, 2024, and Jan 7, 2025, the accused and his accomplices contacted the complainant via Facebook and WhatsApp, posing as stock market trading experts.
The fraudsters induced the complainant to invest in fake online stock market schemes with promises of high returns, thereby cheating him of Rs 2.4 crore through multiple bank transactions, police said.
Gupta said that based on investigation and financial analysis, a suspect was identified. A police team was constituted to apprehend the accused, and it proceeded to Narsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh.
“We have arrested Neeraj Rai, a resident of Galli No. 9, Pratap Nagar, Shastri Ward, Narsinghpur,” Gupta said.
During the interrogation, it was revealed that the accused played a key role in managing mule bank accounts and was responsible for routing Rs 3 lakh of the defrauded amount to various accounts, Gupta said.
“His bank account is also found to be involved in 40 other cases across the country. He is believed to be part of a larger network actively engaged in the circulation of fraudulent funds,” Gupta said. “The accused has been remanded in five days of police custody. Further investigation is under way under the supervision of PI Deepak Pednekar.”