T-Medical Council office superintendent loses ₹58.2 lakh in fake ‘block trading’ investment scam
HYDERABAD: A 45-year-old office superintendent with the Telangana Medical Council has lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crimes police, alleging that he was cheated of ₹58.2 lakh by fraudsters who posed as representatives of a reputed stockbroking firm and lured him into a fake “block trading” and IPO investment scheme.
According to the complaint, Gandam Anil Kumar said he received unsolicited calls and WhatsApp messages from December 31, 2025, from a woman identifying herself as Eshana Yadav and others, claiming to be associated with “5paisa Financial Thoughts”. The callers promised assured high returns through block trading and added him to a WhatsApp group named “L121 5paisa Financial Thoughts”, which had over 100 members.
The complainant said the group members, including persons claiming to be a customer care executive Anurag Thakur and a CEO named Gaurav Seth, projected themselves as experts and displayed what he later realised were manipulated trading dashboards and fake profits. Believing the claims, he invested his own savings and borrowed funds from family members, transferring ₹58,22,175 through multiple transactions.
He alleged that the money was sent to several bank accounts and UPI IDs provided by the fraudsters, spread across different banks in various states. While small withdrawals of ₹500, ₹22,275 and ₹40,000 were initially allowed into his State Bank of India account, larger withdrawal requests were later blocked.
Anil Kumar said the app showed a balance of ₹1.9 crore, but when he attempted to withdraw ₹81 lakh, the request was rejected. The fraudsters allegedly demanded an upfront “commission” of ₹38.18 lakh, claiming it was a 20% profit tax or brokerage, and asked him to deposit it into a Central Bank of India current account. Despite requests to deduct the amount from the displayed balance, they insisted on fresh payment, he said.
The complainant stated that the fraudsters impersonated a Securities and Exchange Board of India-registered broker, adding that genuine platforms do not demand post-profit commissions separately. He has submitted transaction details, mobile numbers, account particulars and the app name “5paisa-pro.com” to the police.
Cyber Crimes police,have registered the complaint and initiated an investigation into the alleged nationwide network of accounts used in the scam. An NCRP acknowledgment number has been issued.
