Cyber cell of Mumbai police gets back Rs 32 lakh that man lost in online fraud

A Borivali businessman who spent a traumatic year during which he lost his father and struggled to fund his wifersquos treatment after losing Rs 32 lakh to cybercrime has some reason to cheer The cyber cell of the Mumbai police tracked down the alleged fraudster a USeducated man recovered the money and returned it to Mahesh Gupta who was cheated on the pretext of casting his minor daughter in ads and filmsGupta is among the scores of victims of cyber frauds amid despite attempts by authorities to raise awareness of nefarious dealings in the digital world An average 2025 cybercrimes are reported in Mumbai dailyIn June last year Gupta said he received a message from an unknown number saying his 15yearold daughter could be featured in advertisements for top brands ldquoThe message also said that they saw my daughter during a visit to a mall and wanted to cast her in commercials for a top apparel brandrdquo Gupta told middayPolice said accused Apurva Dauda made fake covers of magazines to impress his victimsldquoThe person told me to pay Rs 29440 to make her portfolio Later he said that she had been selected and told me to pay Rs 35 lakh I paid it through NEFT He said my daughter would be playing the lead role in a movie called lsquoBachchon Ki Duniyarsquo along with actor Aamir Khan and told me to pay Rs 97 lakh for costumesrdquo Gupta said he kept paying the man who spoke only via WhatsApp calls By the time he grew suspicious he had already shelled out Rs 32 lakh ldquoHe never met me in person citing the lockdown He stopped responding to my calls and messages once I started asking about the shooting schedulerdquo said Gupta who deals in spare parts for aircraftLeft with no recourse Gupta 47 met Rashmi Karandikar deputy commissioner of police cyber cell last month ldquoI explained how my family was devastated and I had no money for the treatment of my wife who suffered kidney failure My father died without getting medical care last year My daughter slipped into depressionrdquo he saidAlso read Mumbai In nick of time cop saves businessman from lsquoNigerian scamrsquoSmooth operatorWorking on the details shared by Gupta the cybercops last month arrested one Apurva Ashwin Dauda alias Dr Rishi Shroff 47 from the Kolhapur toll plaza The police said Dauda studied in HR College and even went to a business school in Colorado US He has apparently done an acting course from Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute in JuhuCops said Dauda even created fake covers of popular magazines showing his photos to impress his victims Over the past four years he has allegedly duped over 100 aspiring actors of about Rs 2 crore He also has an office in Dubai which is now under the scannerldquoIt was very challenging for us to crack this case but my team has worked tirelessly to get him arrested and recover the amount and the same has been given to the complainant who is having serious medical issues at his homerdquo said KarandikarOfficers said the detection rate of the cyber cell is about 87 per cent but that is no assurance for people to drop their guard ldquoWith the courtrsquos permission we have returned the money to the complainant but people have to be very careful to avoid such cyber frauds One must verify before making any kind of payment Such frauds have been on the riserdquo said Milind Bharambe joint commissioner of police crimeGupta was effusive in his praise of the cybercops He said ldquoI never thought I would get the money back I salute the Mumbai police and am grateful to the cyber cell for bringing smiles and peace to my familyrdquo2025No of cybercrime cases reported in the city daily