The Bombay High Court has directed Pune cyber police to arrest the accused in a ₹87.52 lakh online investment fraud case within three months and submit a detailed investigation report by 9 February 2027, after expressing strong displeasure that no arrest had been made in nearly two years.
The case concerns Pune resident Ekta Shah, a software engineer who allegedly lost the money after being introduced to an online investment scheme through a Facebook advertisement. According to the petition, she was added to a WhatsApp group called ‘AI Stock Market Training Group’, where members promised high returns from share-market investments and instructed her to use a trading application called ‘Dhan Finance’.
Shah allegedly deposited ₹87.52 lakh through 15 transactions into different bank accounts between 15 April and 10 June 2024. The people behind the scheme initially allowed her to withdraw ₹30,000, creating the impression that the investment was generating genuine returns. The application later showed an investment portfolio of about ₹1.35 crore in her name.
When Shah attempted to withdraw the displayed amount, she was allegedly asked to pay additional sums towards taxes and anti-money-laundering verification. She later realised that the profits and investment details shown on the application were fabricated and approached the police. An offence was registered at the Pune Cyber Police Station on 24 June 2024.
During the proceedings, Justice A. S. Gadkari questioned the slow progress of the investigation and criticised the response submitted by the investigating officer. The court asked the government advocate what action would be taken against an officer who submitted what it described as a meaningless response. It also indicated that the court could exercise its constitutional powers to reprimand the officer if appropriate action was not taken.
The petition claimed that nearly 500 suspected bank accounts were linked to the transactions. It also sought a detailed examination of the financial trail, investigation of the suspected accounts, continuation of restrictions on the money in those accounts and action to locate and prosecute the accused. The petition stated that police had traced and secured ₹12.11 lakh from an account with IDFC First Bank, although no arrest had been made in connection with that account. About ₹13.96 lakh has reportedly been recovered so far.
The investigation also faced scrutiny after the investigating officer issued a notice referring to provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, despite that law having been repealed. The notice suggested that the case could be classified as an ‘A Class’ case because the accused could not be traced, a classification that could have enabled the matter to be closed on that ground. The cyber police withdrew the notice after the High Court intervened and acknowledged that it cited an incorrect law and incorrect provisions.
The court has now required the police to pursue arrests within the next three months and present a progress report at the hearing scheduled for 9 February 2027.
