Kozhikode: The Kozhikode City Cyber Crime Police in Kerala have arrested two more individuals from Madhya Pradesh involved in a large-scale cyber fraud case that saw a Kozhikode resident defrauded of over Rs 4 crore, officials said.
It is learnt that Dinesh Kumar Phulvani (48) from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, and Shahid Khan (52) from Alot, Madhya Pradesh, were arrested for their involvement in the scam. The extorted amount, Rs 4,08,80,457, was transferred by the main accused, Sunil Dangi, who is currently in judicial custody.
The police revealed that Dangi transferred the funds to the accounts of Phulvani and Khan, of which approximately Rs 1.5 crore has been recovered. The scam was executed through phone calls and WhatsApp, and the police seized mobile phones, bank accounts, and documents from the two arrested suspects. Both Phulvani and Khan have been remanded to judicial custody as per officials.
Modus operandi
According to officials, the victim of the fraud, a doctor from Madhya Pradesh who has been residing in Kozhikode for 35 years, was initially contacted by a man named Amit on January 31. Amit (fake name), claiming to be from the same community, told the complainant he was in severe debt after the Covid pandemic and needed urgent financial help. While the complainant transferred small amounts allegedly for medical expenses and debts, Amit spun a web of deceit involving family crises, legal troubles, and even fake suicide attempts.
Amit's manipulation grew more sophisticated with the involvement of other fake persons including a doctor, a town inspector, and a construction contractor (fake), all of whom convinced the complainant to send increasingly larger sums of money. The fraudulent demands included costs for medical treatments, legal proceedings, and even the ransom for Amit’s alleged kidnapping. At one point, the victim was led to believe that his name was implicated in a suicide note linked to the case, further intensifying the pressure to send more money.
The victim, who had a history of making significant donations, including to religious institutions, complied with the demands, sending large sums over time. The fraudsters even fabricated media attention, threats of arrest, and fabricated property deals to extract money. The victim sent money in installments, totaling lakhs of rupees, in the hope of resolving the fabricated crises.
The scam was uncovered when the victim's son began his own investigation into the matter. A complaint was lodged with the Kozhikode Cyber Crime Police on August 31, which triggered an investigation that led to the arrest of Phulvani and Khan. Senior police officers are now working to uncover the full extent of the fraud and trace any further individuals involved.
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