Faridabad police have arrested six men for allegedly cheating a company of ₹50 lakh by impersonating its chairman and managing director (CMD) through WhatsApp, officials said on Tuesday. Investigators have frozen ₹29 lakh of the amount transferred in the suspected fraud.
The case came to light after a Sector 28 resident approached the police on September 17. According to the complaint, he received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number displaying his company CMD’s photograph. The sender instructed him to transfer ₹1 crore to a designated bank account.
Believing the message to be genuine, the complainant transferred ₹50 lakh from the company’s account. He later realised he had been deceived and reported the incident to the Faridabad Central Cyber Police Station.
Police subsequently arrested Ajay and Adnan Khan, residents of Mumbai, along with Avinash, Nasir, Jayarvan and Rizwan, who are from Gujarat. Five mobile phones were recovered during the operation. The accused were produced before a local court on Tuesday and remanded to judicial custody.
Investigators found that the alleged fraud involved several individuals handling bank accounts used to receive the money. According to police, Ajay established a firm named Ajay Manpower and passed its account to Nasir, who subsequently transferred it to Avinash and Jayarvan. The latter allegedly provided account access to fraudsters through Telegram.
Adnan reportedly opened the firm’s current account, while Rizwan operated it from a hotel. The account received the ₹50 lakh allegedly obtained through the transaction.
A Faridabad police spokesperson also shared details about the accused’s educational qualifications and occupations. Ajay works in hardware supply, Avinash in medical supply, and Jayarvan in property dealing.
The investigation highlights how criminals can exploit trusted professional identities and messaging platforms to manipulate employees into authorising substantial financial transfers.
