An employee attached to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was allegedly duped of more than Rs 15 lakh in a sophisticated online investment scam, after which the cops conducted a multi-state probe, leading to the arrest of three accused, the police reported on Thursday.

The accused have been identified as Sandeep Sain and Parikshit, both native residents of Haryana, and Sachin Jhakkar, a resident of Rajasthan. The police believe the trio played different roles in receiving, transferring and concealing the defrauded money through a layered network of bank accounts.

Victim lured with work-from-home offer

As per police, the victim, a resident of New Delhi, who was serving the DRDO, approached police after realising he had been netted in an elaborate cyber fraud. The investigating police personnel said the accused trio contacted him by posing as representatives of a work-from-home company allegedly engaged in property rental ratings and leasing-related assignments.

The scamsters then added him to a group on a messaging application, provided training sessions and instructed him to register on multiple digital platforms. To ingrain trust in him, they also offered small returns on investments and task-based activities.

High returns promised to victim, he ends up losing savings

Once the victim was convinced that he had been pursuing a genuine job, the accused allegedly persuaded him to invest larger amounts in what were described as ‘charter leases,’ ‘bonus tasks’ and other lucrative investment opportunities.

He was enticed by promises of substantial returns and ended up transferring as much as Rs 15.74 lakh to the accused on several occasions. However, when he tried withdrawing the amount later being displayed in his online account, the fraudsters allegedly demanded additional money under the guise of withdrawal penalties and processing charges.

Despite repeated requests, when the crooks did not permit him to withdraw the money and also failed to return the funds invested by him, he realised he had been duped.

Probe spans multiple states

After the victim lodged a police complaint, the cops registered an e-FIR and launched a probe, resorting to technical surveillance, digital forensics and financial transaction analysis. The probe traced the movement of funds across multiple states, eventually leading to Sandeep’s arrest from Haryana’s Karnal on June 7. Subsequently, the cops swooped down on Sachin from Delhi’s Pitampura on June 8. Parikshit, who initially managed to evade police raids, was arrested from Haryana on June 9.

Accused essayed different roles in the fraud

The investigating police personnel revealed that Parikshit allegedly functioned as a first-layer account holder who initially received the fraud proceeds. Sandeep, according to police, is believed to have acted as a second-layer account holder, facilitating the transfer of the fraudulently-obtained proceeds to other channels.

Sachin allegedly arranged and supplied bank accounts which were used to route the cheated money and obscure its trail. Police said they are persevering in efforts to identify other members of the network and unearth the full extent of the operation.