Ahmedabad: Fake mParivahan App Allegedly Drains ₹10.77 Lakh From 81-Year-Old Retired Professor
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
An 81-year-old retired professor from Ahmedabad has allegedly lost ₹10.77 lakh in a cyber fraud after a suspected malicious application disguised as the government’s mParivahan app was installed on his mobile phone, police said.
The complainant, Suresh Chandra Pancholi, a retired economics professor and former principal of Sahajanand College in Ambawadi, alleged that fraudsters siphoned off ₹7.47 lakh from his ICICI Bank savings account and another ₹3.29 lakh from his Bank of Baroda account through multiple unauthorised transactions on October 17.
Fake mParivahan App File Sent Through WhatsApp
According to the complaint filed with the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime police, Pancholi received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number through a group named ‘Government Recruitment and Scheme 544’. The message allegedly contained an Android application package (APK) file named mParivahan.
Pancholi told police that the application appeared to have been installed on his phone, although he was unsure whether he had downloaded it himself. He suspected that opening or installing the file enabled unknown persons to access his device and carry out financial transactions without his knowledge.
Bank Alert Exposes ₹7.47-Lakh Transfer
The alleged fraud came to light on the afternoon of October 17, when Pancholi received a notification about a transaction from his ICICI Bank account.
He showed the message to his neighbour, Pratik Zaveri, and the two visited the bank’s Satellite branch to verify the transactions.
According to the complaint, the bank’s relationship manager informed Pancholi that ₹7.47 lakh had been transferred through multiple transactions. He was advised to report the matter to the national cybercrime helpline, 1930.
Pancholi subsequently filed an online complaint, and his ICICI Bank account was blocked.
Another ₹3.29 Lakh Allegedly Transferred From Second Account
Pancholi later contacted his son, Sameer, and visited the Bank of Baroda’s Manekbagh branch. The bank informed him that another ₹3.29 lakh had allegedly been transferred from his salary account.
The transactions listed in the complaint involved multiple transfers through accounts linked to HDFC Bank, City Union Bank and Airtel Payments Bank.
The total amount allegedly siphoned off from the two accounts was ₹10.77 lakh.
Cyber Crime Police Begin Investigation
Pancholi subsequently approached the Ahmedabad Cyber Cell of the Crime Branch with his son and sought an investigation into the suspected fraud.
He identified the sender of the APK file, the holder of the mobile number used to send it and the account holders who allegedly received the money as persons whose roles needed to be investigated.
The police have initiated an investigation into the alleged cyber fraud.
