Particle.news
Download on the App Store

India Cyber Police Make Arrests as WhatsApp ‘e‑Challan’ APK and ‘Digital Arrest’ Scams Trigger Multi‑City Losses

Investigators describe layered rackets that hijack Android phones with side‑loaded apps, then launder stolen funds via gift cards, online gold, cryptocurrency.

Overview

  • Mumbai’s North Cyber Police arrested 25-year-old Hardik Ashokbhai Borda in Surat after a Malad businessman and his wife lost Rs 21.73 lakh to a WhatsApp RTO‑challan APK, with about Rs 8.5 lakh traced to his account.
  • Chandigarh Cyber Crime Police arrested 23-year-old Devansh Goyal over a fake Parivahan challan link that led to Rs 3.26 lakh in card fraud, with the trail showing gift cards redeemed into online gold delivered in Delhi‑NCR.
  • Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch reported an 82-year-old kept under “digital arrest” and coerced to transfer Rs 7.12 crore, announced 12 arrests tied to a Cambodia‑based Chinese syndicate, and identified 238 mule accounts with funds converted to USDT.
  • Telangana’s cyber bureau received a complaint from an 81-year-old Hyderabad businessman who paid over Rs 7 crore after callers posed as Mumbai Police and confined him to prolonged video calls to extort transfers.
  • Bhopal police recorded two new cases — a retired ASI losing Rs 2.40 lakh after installing an APK during a pension update ruse, and a 74-year-old transferring Rs 52 lakh under a fake ATS “verification” — as authorities urged the public to avoid unsolicited APKs or links.