MUMBAI: A sensational case involving multi-crore fraud, abduction-like confinement and extortion has surfaced in Mumbai’s Vile Parle East area, where a businessman was allegedly duped of Rs 3.25 crore by a group that lured him with promises of high investment returns, police said.
According to officials, the accused first persuaded the businessman to invest Rs 1 crore with assurances of substantial profits. When he later demanded his money back after growing suspicious, he and his company’s General Manager were allegedly held at gunpoint, threatened with death and forced to transfer an additional Rs 2.25 crore.
A case has been registered at the Airport Police Station, Mumbai, against 10 accused, and a manhunt has been launched to trace and arrest them.
As per the complaint filed by the victim, Ayush Nakra, the alleged conspiracy was executed between July 15, 2025, and August 28, 2025. The complainant stated that four brokers -- Lakshminarayan Agarwal, Devkumar Roy, Sushilkumar Yadav and Chetan Sanghvi -- approached him claiming links with a major investment network and convinced him to invest in a firm identified as ‘Archship Group’.
The accused allegedly assured the businessman that his investment would multiply significantly within a short span and repeatedly emphasised that his funds would remain secure, gradually gaining his trust.
The complaint further states that on August 22, 2025, the accused arranged for the transfer of Rs 1 crore from the victim’s company account to an entity named ‘Manav Dharmayog NGO’, claiming that it was part of the investment process and that returns would follow soon.