Bengaluru businessman duped of ₹63.9 lakh in fake Reliance investment & IPO scam

Bengaluru

A city resident has filed a detailed police complaint after allegedly losing nearly ₹63.95 lakh in a sophisticated online investment scam run through WhatsApp groups falsely claiming links to Reliance Capital Limited’s Primary Market Account (PMA) and multiple “upcoming IPOs”.

Bengaluru East CEN police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) and are probing the case. 

According to the complaint, N R Manju Prasad said he was first contacted on 17 July 2025 via WhatsApp by individuals posing as officials and investment advisors of “RCL PMA”. The fraudsters sent him a fake Reliance Capital Primary Market Account Registration Form and urged him to begin investing with an initial deposit of ₹50,000.

Daily “profits”, fake advisors and investor manipulation

The complaint states that once the initial payment was made, the accused began sending him daily updates showing 5% returns on his so-called investment. He was frequently contacted by a woman identifying herself as Assistant “Ms. Anjali Mehta”, who insisted that he sell shares and reinvest for “higher profits”.

Another woman, “Ms. Kriti”, claimed she was an investor and regularly shared screenshots of her profits to convince him to increase his stakes.

The complainant has named several individuals who interacted with him through WhatsApp groups and calls:

• “Professor” Shridhar Rangarajan – 8734835767 / 9076783283
• Assistant “Anjali Mehta” – 9601929885 / 9007980797
• “Kriti” – 9157264250 / 8732981609
• Online customer service “Ravi Mehra” – multiple numbers provided

Fake IPOs: Highway Infrastructure Ltd & Regaal Resources

The fraud escalated when Prasad was persuaded to invest in a purported Highway Infrastructure Ltd IPO, for which he was “allotted” 42,381 shares. He was instructed to pay ₹18,99,940, after which the scammers claimed his profits had risen by 120%.

When he attempted to withdraw the funds, he was pressured into applying for a second fake IPO — Regaal Resources. He was allegedly allotted 1,09,824 shares, requiring ₹81,09,404, of which there was a “shortage” of ₹35 lakh.

The scammers told him that unless he paid the shortfall, all previous funds would be forfeited. They also promised a “short-term loan” from Reliance Capital to cover the amount, which never materialised.

Fake charges and threats

Even after he completed the payments demanded, the group allegedly showed him a fake total profit of ₹1.26 crore. But when he applied to withdraw, they demanded:

• 15% brokerage charges – ₹11,00,000
• 10% custodian charges – ₹12,00,000

Prasad grew suspicious and refused. The group then allegedly threatened to transfer all the funds to “charity” and shut down the WhatsApp group, saying they would move genuine investors to an “Elite Members Group”.

Money borrowed from family, siphoned to multiple accounts

The complaint reveals that the victim borrowed heavily from family members:

• From his daughter (HDFC Bank): ₹31,00,000
• From his mother-in-law (Canara Bank): ₹10,00,000
• From his own SBI account: ₹22,95,997

The total amount lost — ₹63,95,997 — was transferred to 10 bank accounts, including entities listed as Start Ladder Services Pvt Ltd, Shine Enterprises, Shiv Enterprises, Naresh Enterprises, Marivista Market Hub Pvt Ltd, Bayzi Ecom Pvt Ltd, HS Construction, and Ecomyx West Coast Ecommerce Pvt. Ltd