Surat cyber crime police have arrested three men, including a retired college professor, for allegedly cheating a Surat policyholder of ₹1.5 crore through a fake insurance refund scheme. Investigators said the case has uncovered links to 47 bank accounts associated with 73 cyberfraud complaints across 15 states.
The accused have been identified as Atul Sharma, 64, a former professor who worked at IMT College in Ghaziabad; Mahesh Sharma, 43; and Sonu Thakur, 32. According to the complaint, the men allegedly contacted a Surat resident while posing as representatives of the insurance ombudsman and offered to help secure refunds on about 15 insurance policies.
Police said the victim was persuaded to transfer money on different pretexts, including processing charges, resulting in an alleged loss of ₹1.5 crore. The case illustrates how fraudsters can exploit the complexity of insurance procedures and use the identity of regulatory or grievance-redress authorities to gain the confidence of policyholders.
Investigators alleged that Atul arranged SIM cards and bank accounts by approaching people on the pretext of helping them obtain gas connections. Police said he retained between 35% and 50% of the money obtained through the fraud and transferred the remaining amount to Mahesh. Mahesh allegedly supplied SIM cards and bank account details to Sonu, who then contacted victims while posing as an insurance representative.
A Surat police team used technical analysis of mobile numbers to track the accused and spent a week in Ghaziabad before making the arrests. Police seized nine mobile phones, 42 cheque books, 17 passbooks, 90 debit cards, 25 SIM cards, around 80 blank SIM cards and cash during the operation.
Further investigation found that 47 bank accounts allegedly linked to the network had appeared in 73 cyberfraud complaints registered across 15 states. Police said those complaints involved online fraud amounting to around ₹33.10 lakh. The investigation into the accused, the accounts and the wider set of complaints is continuing.
