The Kota City Cyber Police in Rajasthan on Wednesday arrested a 22-year-old youth Sohail Khan in connection with a cyber fraud case amounting to Rs 56 lakh, an official said.

The accused was on the wanted list for a long time. The police also seized a mobile phone and Rs 15,000 from the accused.

According to SP Amrita Duhan, a man named Pradeep Kumar, filed a complaint on February this year mentioning that in January, he was added to a WhatsApp group with unknown members, where he received messages promoting online share trading.

He was lured into downloading an app from the Google Play Store and creating an account.

Later, Kumar transferred Rs 56 lakh from his accounts to the account provided by the scammers between January 19 and February 6, 2024.

When he attempted to withdraw his “investment” via the app, it failed. Further, the fraudsters demanded an additional Rs 11.30 lakh. Realising the scam, Kumar reported the case to the Cyber Cell.

A case under the IPC and IT Act was registered, and a special team led by SHO Inspector Satish Chand, under the supervision of ASP Dilip Saini, was formed to apprehend the culprit. The team tracked the bank accounts and mobile numbers used in the fraud and successfully arrested Sohail Khan.

Upon investigation, it was confirmed that the Rs 56 lakh fraud amount was deposited into Sohail Khan’s bank account. Further inquiries revealed that his bank account is linked to 45 cyber fraud complaints registered across various states on the cybercrime portal.

Sohail Khan has been remanded to two days of police custody for further investigation into the fraud amount and to identify other accomplices involved in the scam.