The Delhi Police have arrested four accused on Wednesday for allegedly duping a retired Indian Air Force officer of nearly Rs 49.28 lakh by an online investment fraud syndicate posing as financial advisors, officials said. The scam was uncovered by the Cyber police station of North-East Delhi, which arrested four suspects involved in the racket within five days of receiving the complaint. The victim, Umesh Kumar Sharma, a resident of Yamuna Vihar, told police he was contacted via WhatsApp by a woman claiming to be Kangna Sharma, an investment advisor. She introduced him to a scheme that promised high returns through a private investment group. Sharma was sent a link to a fake trading platform and, under the guidance of the advisor, made multiple transactions from his and his fathers bank accounts — eventually transferring a total of Rs 49,28,571. What seemed like a promising investment soon turned suspicious when Sharmas attempts to withdraw his funds were consistently rejected. He was then told to deposit additional money or risk having his account frozen and losing all investments and profits. Realising he had been duped, Sharma lodged a complaint on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), prompting a police investigation. A special team, led by Inspector Rahul Kumar and supervised by ACP Operations Mangesh Gedam, was formed to investigate the case. Through technical surveillance and bank account tracking, the team traced multiple beneficiary accounts used to launder the funds. The breakthrough came when police conducted a raid near Anand Vihar Bus Stand and arrested four individuals linked to the syndicate. Those arrested were identified as Amit Kumar (35), a resident of Gokulpuri; Uzair Abbasi (28) from Sangam Vihar; Ali Sher Saifi (45) from Dadri, Uttar Pradesh; and Mohd Hamid (33) from Vishnu Garden, Delhi. During the operation, officers recovered four mobile phones and five SIM cards believed to have been used in the fraud. The accused reportedly confessed during interrogation, admitting their role in the wider syndicate. Their primary job was to open bank accounts using forged documents and fake identities. These accounts were then handed over to fraud operators to channel stolen funds. In return, the accused received a commission for each successful transaction. Police have managed to freeze approximately Rs 2 lakh from various accounts linked to the scam and are now probing the syndicates links to other cyber fraud cases across India. An officer involved in the investigation stated that the syndicate appeared to be part of a pan-India network specializing in online investment scams. Authorities are continuing their inquiry to identify additional members and financial trails, with the aim of dismantling the entire operation. Further investigation is ongoing in the case. 

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