Gandhidham Teacher Duped of Rs 18 Lakh in Share Market Scam

A schoolteacher from Gandhidham in Gujarat’s Kutch district was allegedly cheated of Rs 18 lakh by cyber fraudsters who promised big returns through share market investments.

The victim, Vijaylakshmi Deepak Singh, originally from Bihar, has filed a complaint at the Kutch (East) Cybercrime police station. She named two individuals, Ananya Gupta and Shrini Vishvanathan, in her complaint.

According to the FIR, the fraud began in January when Gupta added Singh to a WhatsApp group that claimed to offer stock market tips. The group, managed by Vishvanathan, looked genuine — with users regularly posting screenshots of their “profits” and earnings. Though Singh didn’t participate at first, Gupta later contacted her directly, encouraging her to invest in shares supposedly available at discounted rates under the name of IPO deals.

Singh was asked to register on a trading platform via a link sent by Gupta. The website showed real-time figures like asset value, profits, losses, and even had credit scores and withdrawal options to appear trustworthy. Gupta further shared bank details and sent a document that looked like it was issued by SEBI, the securities regulator.

Trusting the system, Singh made her first investment of Rs 60,000. As the portal continued showing rising profits, she kept investing more. When the platform showed her account balance had grown to Rs 6 lakh, she tried to withdraw her money — but was told she had to invest more in new IPOs first.

Over time, Singh made 112 transactions, transferring a total of Rs 18 lakh, hoping to eventually access a displayed balance of Rs 80 lakh.

However, when she refused to pay a commission of Rs 13 lakh demanded for fund withdrawal, she was removed from the WhatsApp group. Realising she had been scammed, Singh reported the fraud to the cybercrime helpline and filed a police complaint.

Police are investigating the case and trying to trace the accused.