Patna: Cyber fraudsters duped a retired Indian Air Force sergeant of Rs 18.15 lakh by luring him into a fake stock trading scheme operated through a WhatsApp group and a fraudulent mobile app, police said on Wednesday. The case came to light after the victim, Brajesh Kumar Singh (retired sergeant), a resident of Anandpuri under Sadar police station limits, lodged an FIR at the cyber police station on April 14.Singh retired from the Indian Air Force on Sept 30, 2024. While looking to invest his retirement benefits, he came across an entity named Funsol Securities Pvt Ltd on March 18, which promised high returns. He was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group of around 120 members, allegedly administered by ‘Gul Tek Chandni’ and ‘Ananya Kulkarni’.The group administrators asked him to download the FinsolGo app from the Play Store. On March 24, Singh invested Rs 15,000 and was shown an allocation of 3,200 shares on the app. On March 30, he transferred Rs 3 lakh via RTGS to a bank account named Kings Enterprises.On April 1, the app showed an allotment of 60,000 shares in his name without his consent. When Singh objected, he was allegedly threatened on WhatsApp that his earlier investment would be blocked if he failed to pay more money. Under pressure, he deposited another Rs 15 lakh into an account named Juken Uni Product.The app later reflected nearly three lakh shares and demanded an additional Rs 11 lakh. When Singh refused to pay, he was removed from the WhatsApp group.Cyber DSP Himanshu Kumar said a case has been registered and inspector Devendra Kumar is leading the investigation. “Efforts are on to identify and arrest the cyber fraudsters involved,” he said.
