Kolkata Police arrest two in ₹9.15 lakh investment scam, 245 bank accounts uncovered

Kolkata Police arrested two individuals in connection with an investment fraud amounting to Rs. 9.15 lakh. The accused, Abhishek Tewari (42) of 39A/21 Prince Golam Md. Shah Road, Jadavpur, and Tista Sen (40), daughter of Milan Sen, of 42/1J Prince Golam Hossain Shah Road, Kolkata-700032, were taken into custody on February 8, 2025, at 6:48 AM. The arrests were made following a raid at Ivy Greens, Block-9, Flat-3A, Vedic Village, Rajarhat, PIN-700135, after three to four months of surveillance. The case, registered as Cyber PS Case No. 56/24 dated June 6, 2024, includes charges under Sections 66, 66C, and 66D of the IT Act, along with Sections 120B, 419, 420, 465, 467, 468, and 471 of the IPC. The complainant, Munira Safadar, a resident of New CIT Road, Bowbazar, Kolkata-700073, alleged that she was induced to invest in a fraudulent scheme with the promise of high returns and transferred a total of Rs. 9.15 lakh in multiple phases.

Investigation revealed that Rs. 1.5 lakh from the victim’s account was transferred in two tranches on April 29 and 30, 2024, to a current account belonging to an elderly woman residing in Howrah. Further scrutiny of the account’s operation led to the identification of two individuals who controlled multiple bank accounts used for routing defrauded money. The accused were under surveillance as they frequently changed hideouts. Police tracked their movements and raided their location in Rajarhat, leading to their arrest.

During the operation, multiple items were seized, including seven mobile phones, 59 SIM cards, 31 ATM cards, 17 cheque books, 19 stamps, nine PAN cards, one laptop, one external hard disk, one internal hard disk, one fingerprint scanner, two passbooks, a large number of trade licenses, and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) documents. Additionally, Rs. 3 lakh in Rs. 500 currency notes was recovered. A significant seizure included an Excel file, found in both digital and hard copy format, containing controlling credentials of 245 bank accounts, including account numbers, linked mobile numbers, email IDs, and passwords.

Prior to this operation, six individuals had already been arrested in connection with the case. The investigation is ongoing to track additional suspects, examine financial transactions, and analyze digital evidence. Authorities are also working to determine if the accused are linked to other financial frauds. Further legal proceedings are in progress.