Man gets Rs 10L for renting a/c for cyber fraud, held

Mumbai: The central cyber police have arrested a 32-year-old man who allegedly allowed his bank account to be used by the cyber fraudster who impersonated officials from Mumbai Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and National Investigation Agency (NIA), and using "digital arrest'' as a threat, duped a businessman of nearly Rs 48 lakh. Police have arrested Swapnil Chavan, who is accused of receiving Rs 10 lakh in his bank account. Police are scrutinising his bank account to find out whether he received money from more such sources and whether he is part of a bigger racket. Chavan, who is into farming, runs an agro company.The victim is a branch manager working for a pharmaceutical company in Byculla. According to the first information report dated Feb 19, 2026, the victim, a resident of Kalachowki, was deceived by fraudsters posing as officers from ATS and NIA.The accused allegedly allowed his bank account to be used as a mule account, enabling the fraudsters to receive and siphon off funds extorted from their victim. Police said the arrest was part of an ongoing probe to dismantle a wider cybercrime network.As per the complaint, the victim received a call on Jan 7 from a person identifying himself as inspector Ranjit Kumar Singh from the Mumbai Police headquarters in Colaba. The caller falsely claimed that the victim's Aadhaar card had been misused for anti-national activities and coerced him into cooperating with a fake investigation. He was subsequently contacted via video calls by individuals impersonating senior ATS and NIA officials.The fraudsters threatened him with digital arrest and shared fabricated documents, including a confidential agreement, an asset seizure order, and an arrest warrant. To secure a so-called non-involvement certificate, the victim was instructed to transfer money for "verification."Fearing legal consequences, he transferred Rs 47.99 lakh between Jan 8 and Jan 23, 2026, to multiple bank accounts across various financial institutions, including City Union Bank, State Bank of India, and Equitas Bank, police said.When the accused stopped responding, the victim realised he had been cheated and lodged a complaint with the Cyber Helpline (1930) on Feb 3, 2026.Cyber police officers stated that further investigations are underway to trace other members of the syndicate and recover the defrauded amount.