04 June,2026 07:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Sarthak Mehta
(From left) Constable Wasim Shaikh, PSI Rupesh Bhagwat, Sr PI Satish Gaikwad, API Amit Deokar, Head Constable Anil Udage, Constable Amar Deshmukh. PICS/By Special Arrangement
After a month-long investigation, the Cyber Cell of Cuffe Parade police have arrested two accused in a Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) gas .APK fraud case last month. On May 18, police arrested the main accused, Govind Shyamlal Mandal, 42, and his accomplice Madan Jaylal Sahu, alias Sav, 40.
The arrest came following a complaint by a South Bombay resident who was allegedly cheated of Rs 5,44,827 in February this year. Police said they were able to recover Rs 3,49,985 of the defrauded amount of the complainant.
Police said that they have escalated the matter to the apex cybercrime office - National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC), Delhi. "With the involvement of NCCC, we will be able to do advanced forensic analysis and cross institutional tracing of this fraud network," said an officer.
Prime accused Govind Mandal and accused Madal Sahu
Cuffe Parade police said that the technical wing of I4C (Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre) has accepted their findings and suggestions from this case, following which the NCCR portal is being modified. These portal updates are expected to allow law enforcement officers across India to flag, track, and share intelligence on accused individuals through credit card numbers.
The fraudsters duped victims by pursuing them to install fake and malicious MGL APK files; simultaneously, they prescouted for individuals with massive outstanding credit card bills. The defrauded amount was used to pay these outstandings, and fraudsters walked off with a discounted amount in cash.
This "modus" bypassed the usual police action during the Golden Hour - when the amount is frozen in the bank following a 1930 (cybercell) call.
The police conducted continuous location tracking and CDR analysis on Mandal, the primary suspect, for 15 days. They then lured him to Navi Mumbai under the pretext of collecting multiple high-limit merchant credit cards.
A disguised cyber team set up a stakeout at Belapur railway station. When an intermediary arrived, the team followed him to Hotel Ratanbala, where they arrested both the accused.
