25 July,2026 08:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
Atma Ram was arrested in Shimla. Pic/By Special Arrangement
The North Region Cyber Police of the Mumbai Crime Branch have arrested a Himachal Pradesh-based man in connection with an alleged Rs 1.07 crore online share trading fraud, taking the total number of arrests in the case to seven.
Atma Ram, son of Sita Ram, a tour and travel businessman from Himachal Pradesh, was arrested from Shimla after police traced the money trail. Investigators found that Rs 15 lakh of the complainant's money had been transferred to an IndusInd Bank account, from where Rs 10 lakh was allegedly moved to Atma Ram's account with Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank. Police found that Rs 9.90 lakh was subsequently withdrawn using a cheque.
According to investigators, Atma Ram allowed his account to be used after an alleged former bank employee, whom he reportedly met at a salon, promised him a hefty commission. The suspect allegedly told him that online gambling money would be routed through his account. Police suspect that after Rs 15 lakh was deposited, Atma Ram kept around R3 lakh as commission and withdrew the remaining amount in cash to hand over to the alleged bank employee, who is now absconding.
The investigation has revealed a multi-layered network wherein bank accounts were arranged for and used to route the fraud proceeds. The police have so far arrested Sandeep Gopal Agrawal, Jagjitsingh Surjansingh Shergil, Manishkumar Kantibhai Patel, Shibu Narayanan, Kapil Mahavirkumar Pipada alias Vikas Jain, Praveen Govind Kutty alias Praveen, and Atma Ram.
A case was registered after a 43-year-old investment banking professional from Goregaon East lost Rs 1,07,37,208 in a fake online share trading and IPO investment scheme. The woman was lured through a WhatsApp group and directed to a fake trading platform that showed purported profits of around Rs 3.60 crore. When she sought to withdraw the money, the fraudsters demanded additional payments towards verification, transaction fees, and taxes. Police traced Atma Ram to Shimla based on bank transaction details. He was produced before the 17th Court in Borivli and remanded to police custody.
Police suspect Shibu Narayanan acted as a key second-layer handler who arranged for bank accounts through associates. Investigators are now tracing the remaining money, probing the role of the absconding former bank employee, and searching for other members of the fraud network.
The operation was carried out under the guidance and supervision of Senior Police Inspector Sunil Lokhande, by Police Sub-Inspector Amol Kamble and the North Cyber team.
