Mumbai, July 4: The Cyber Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police has busted an organised cyber fraud syndicate allegedly involved in cheating investors of more than Rs 1.07 crore through fake online share trading schemes.

As part of the operation, police arrested six individuals accused of orchestrating the fraud by luring victims with bogus investment opportunities, officials said.

According to the Cyber Police, the accused allegedly carried out the fraud by operating through WhatsApp groups, fake trading applications and multiple bank accounts while promising lucrative returns through fabricated share trading and IPO investment schemes.

Of the six accused arrested in the case, four were apprehended from Vadodara in Gujarat, while the remaining two were arrested from Mumbai. Police said the investigation revealed that the group functioned as a well-organised network with clearly defined roles assigned to different members.

According to investigators, the operation was carried out in several layers. The first stage involved identifying individuals willing to provide their bank accounts.

Thereafter, current accounts were allegedly opened in the names of companies, following which the money obtained through the fraud was routed through multiple bank accounts before being transferred further to conceal its trail.

Police believe the entire mechanism was part of an organised cyber fraud racket designed to evade detection.

The case came to light after a 43-year-old investment professional from Mumbai approached the police with a complaint.

According to investigators, she came across an online share trading advertisement on WhatsApp and clicked on the link provided in the message.

Police said that after accessing the link, the woman was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘Arjun Mehta, Kua Securities, UK’, where several individuals, posing as market experts, regularly shared stock market updates, investment advice and claims of exceptionally high returns in an apparent attempt to gain the confidence of group members.

According to the police, the accused gradually won the victim’s trust through professional-looking conversations and investment discussions.

She was eventually persuaded to register on what was presented as an online trading platform and to download a mobile application that displayed an interface closely resembling a genuine stock trading platform.

Believing the platform to be legitimate, the victim transferred money in multiple instalments from her own bank accounts as well as from the accounts of her family members to various bank accounts provided by the accused.

During the investigation, police found that the fraudsters had allegedly cheated the victim of a total amount of Rs 1,07,37,208.

The Cyber Crime Branch is now examining the financial transactions linked to the accused, tracing the movement of the defrauded funds and identifying other individuals who may have been part of the network.

Investigators are also trying to ascertain whether more investors across different states may have fallen victim to the same modus operandi.

Mumbai, July 4: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Saturday claimed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) administration has allegedly fallen into the hands of corrupt elements, leading to a complete collapse of civic life in the city following the initial spells of monsoon rain.

In a scathing editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana, the Thackeray camp said Mumbai’s crumbling civic infrastructure has already claimed two innocent lives.

In Chembur, a young schoolboy was killed after a tree fell onto a school bus, while in the Sakinaka area, a 60-year-old man met a tragic end after falling into an open and unguarded manhole.

“Public outrage is mounting, with demands that instead of merely seeking the resignation of BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, cases of culpable homicide should be registered against the political rulers governing the civic body. Those who routinely criticised the Shiv Sena are now realising the party’s importance in managing the BMC,” it said.

The editorial said that the ongoing crisis has exposed the alleged hypocrisy, cruelty, and corruption of the ruling BJP and its allies. Under the previous Shiv Sena administration, local corporators held significant influence and maintained strict vigilance over their respective areas.

However, the resurgence of an unaccountable system has reportedly given rise to a culture of kickbacks, where commissions from private contractors are being actively distributed among corrupt functionaries, it added.

The crisis has triggered severe infighting within the ruling alliance. Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi, belonging to the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, sparked controversy by demanding the BMC commissioner’s resignation, holding her solely responsible for the city’s plight.

“Critics have labelled this demand as intellectual bankruptcy, pointing out that Eknath Shinde himself heads the Urban Development Ministry. While the rampant corruption and high-handedness of contractors are directly blamed for these fatal accidents, Commissioner Bhide is also criticised for failing to curb the brokerage and corruption, thereby bearing the responsibility for the two fatalities,” said the editorial.

Furthermore, the Thackeray camp claimed that amid the governance vacuum, political distractions have emerged.

A BJP leader from Mulund, mockingly referred to as ‘Popatlal’, has been frequenting the BMC headquarters to pressure the commissioner into evicting Bangladeshi immigrants — a task that legally falls under the jurisdiction of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

“Instead of playing political games in the BMC, he should question Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, as these political stunts have stalled essential civic amenities, resulting in the loss of innocent lives,” it said.

According to the editorial, the pre-monsoon preparedness of the BMC has come under severe scrutiny. The civic body failed to clean drains, repair roads, or trim dangerous tree branches in time, leading to widespread uprooting of trees and massive traffic gridlocks across the city.

“Mayor Ritu Tawde had officially declared that 104 per cent of the drain desilting work had been completed before the monsoon. Critics have questioned the mathematical logic behind a “104 per cent completion” figure, asking where the extra 4 per cent came from, noting that the city remains at the mercy of the government’s favoured contractors,” it noted.

While the commissioner is widely known as Mumbai’s “Metro Woman” for overseeing the construction of underground metro tunnels, her tenure has come under intense scrutiny over the civic body’s failure to tackle potholes and carry out effective desilting.

Amid mounting criticism, Bhide directed the police to register cases against negligent contractors whose alleged lapses resulted in the loss of lives, the editorial said.

New Delhi, July 4: The East District Anti-Narcotics Squad of Delhi Police has busted an alleged drug supply chain operating in the national Capital and arrested three accused, including two foreign nationals, recovering 21.09 grams of MDMA, 30 grams of ganja, three scooters and two mobile phones, officials said on Saturday.

According to Delhi Police, the operation was carried out as part of its ongoing ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy against drugs and the campaign to build a drug-free society.

The three arrested persons have been identified as John, a 35-year-old Senegalese national allegedly working as a drug supplier; Diwakar, 27, a resident of Baba Colony in Burari, Delhi, who was allegedly acting as a local drug peddler; and Solomon, a 37-year-old Nigerian national, who police described as the source of the narcotics.

Police said a dedicated team of the Anti-Narcotics Squad (ANS) of East District was formed under the supervision of Inspector Arun Kumar and the overall guidance of ACP (Operations) Pawan Kumar to crack down on drug suppliers and peddlers. Acting on a tip-off received on June 30, the team laid a trap near Star City Mall on the Delhi-Noida Link Road after receiving information that John would arrive there to deliver MDMA.

According to police, John attempted to flee after noticing the police team by making a U-turn on the wrong side of the road. During the chase, he allegedly rammed his scooter into a road divider before being overpowered by the police. A search led to the recovery of 12.86 grams of MDMA from his possession. Subsequently, an FIR was registered at Mayur Vihar Police Station under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

During interrogation, John allegedly disclosed that he used to supply MDMA to a local peddler, Diwakar, at different locations between the Chilla-Noida border and Akshardham Road. Based on this information, police traced and arrested Diwakar from Akshardham Road. Officers recovered around 3 grams of MDMA and 30 grams of ganja from his possession.

Further questioning of the two accused led investigators to another alleged supplier identified as Solomon, an African national residing in New Ashok Nagar. Police laid another trap near Crown Plaza Hotel Road and Chilla Border Road and arrested Solomon. A search resulted in the recovery of 5.23 grams of MDMA from his possession.

Police said the total seizure included 21.09 grams of MDMA, classified as a commercial quantity, and 30 grams of ganja, with an estimated value of around Rs 4 lakh in the international illicit market. Three scooters allegedly used for transporting narcotics and two mobile phones were also seized.

During the investigation, police found that Diwakar had initially started purchasing MDMA from John for personal consumption before allegedly turning to drug peddling for financial gain. Police further said that both foreign nationals failed to produce valid passports or visas during verification.

Officials said the arrests have helped dismantle an active narcotics supply chain operating in the area. Further investigation is underway to identify both backward and forward linkages of the network and ascertain whether the recovered vehicles were used in other criminal activities.