MUMBAI: Three men, including a former Ranji Trophy player from Gujarat, have been arrested for allegedly providing their bank accounts to a cyber fraud network involved in a ₹32 lakh “digital arrest” scam.
The accused include 24-year-old former Ranji trophy player Rishi Tushar Arote, Harsh Dilip Panchal and Nikhil Keshavram Tiwari, all from Vadodara. They are suspected of routing defrauded money through their accounts, which police say were used in multiple cases across Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru and Gujarat. The police said that Arote, the son of a cricket coach, had abandoned his cricket career and picked cyber fraud as a “shortcut” to make money.
The case stems from a complaint by Maitreyi Vidyasagar, 21, a Goregaon resident. On February 11, her grandmother received a call from a man posing as a Chennai police officer. The accused threatened the duo with a “digital arrest,” alleging that they had aided the terrorist Afzal Khan, implicated in the Pulwama terror attack. The caller alleged that a SIM card issued in the grandmother’s name had been used to leak sensitive information.
The fraudsters placed the family under a “digital arrest,” warning them not to disclose the matter, threatening to imprison them if they did. They were informed that they would have to get a “Non-Involvement Certificate” from the authorities to clear their name from the charges.
The accused sent the family forged documents like fake FIRs, arrest warrants, and confidentiality bonds bearing the names of agencies such as the Mumbai ATS, RBI and NIA. They even staged a video call to demonstrate that “Afzal Khan” was in his custody and was being subjected to severe physical abuse. The accused further intimidated Vidyasagar by claiming that her grandmother was facing imminent arrest and would be remanded to judicial custody for 90 days in connection with this crime.
Under pressure, the victim shared financial details and transferred money between February 11 and 17 to accounts provided by the accused, who claimed the funds would be returned after “verification”.
When the demands continued, the complainant finally approached the North Cyber Cell, which led to the arrests. The police said further investigation is underway to trace other members of the network.
Investigations led the police to Arote, a left-handed batsman and left-arm medium-pace bowler. According to the police, he has been booked earlier too for defrauding investors under the pretext of investment schemes.
Inspector Kiran Aher said the interrogation of the arrested four individuals revealed that they, along with others, had supplied bank accounts to various cyber frauds. With these arrests, the total number of accused held in the case has risen to seven. Earlier, four Nanded residents, Nilesh Prabhakar Wasamwar, Shubham Sanjay Jogand, Ajay Devidasrao Osadre and Siddhant Dilip Jodhale, were arrested.