BSNL general manager loses ₹1 lakh in WhatsApp ‘share market’ scam

An Ahmedabad-based general manager with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has filed a police complaint alleging that he was cheated of over ₹1.05 lakh in an elaborate online share trading scam operated through a WhatsApp group.

According to the complaint lodged with Isanpur police station, Vimalkumar Parmar, 54, who lives with his family in Uttamnagar, came across an Instagram reel about six weeks ago that promised quick returns on small investments.

On 31 July, Parmar clicked the link in the reel and was added to a WhatsApp group named SS Wealth Growth Forum. The group’s administrator, who introduced himself as “Mangalam Ganesh”, guided him to register on a purported trading platform and suggested he start with an investment of ₹2,000.

Parmar first transferred ₹2,000 from his wife Sarojben’s Axis Bank account on 31 July, followed by another ₹3,000 later the same afternoon. Over the next week, the accused allegedly convinced him he was earning profits of ₹800 by displaying fabricated gains on the platform. To win his confidence, the fraudsters even allowed him to “withdraw” ₹200, which was promptly credited back to his wife’s account.

Encouraged by these apparent profits, Parmar was persuaded to invest in what the group claimed was an initial public offering (IPO) of JSW Cement at ₹55 a share. He was told to buy 1,000 shares, requiring a payment of ₹55,000. Believing the claim, Parmar transferred ₹50,000 to the bank account earlier shared by the accused.

On 14 August, the fraudsters told him the amount had gone to an “old account” and that the money needed to be sent to a “new account”. Parmar then transferred another ₹10,000 from his own State Bank of India account and ₹40,000 from his wife’s Axis Bank account.

Soon after, the fraudsters claimed the shares had been sold at ₹157 apiece, with a notional profit of ₹1.57 lakh credited to his account. But when Parmar attempted to withdraw his money, he was told he would first have to pay 30% of the “profit”, about ₹31,000, as charges.

When he refused to pay the additional amount and demanded at least the return of his invested sum, the accused insisted the funds could not be released unless the “charges” were cleared. It was then that Parmar realised he had been duped.

The Isanpur police have registered a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust, naming “Mangalam Ganesh” and others unknown as accused.

“Preliminary inquiry indicates a classic pattern of online investment fraud. We are tracking the bank accounts and phone numbers used by the accused to identify the network behind the scam,” an Isanpur police officer said