Hyderabad man duped of ₹27 lakh in online trading scam
Hyderabad: A 38-year-old man from Hyderabad was cheated of over ₹27 lakh in an online stock market trading scam, police said.
The victim came across a trading-related advertisement on Facebook and contacted the persons behind it. The fraudsters posed as stock market traders and added him to a WhatsApp group where several people, claiming to be experts and assuring high profits and quick returns, convinced him to invest money.
“Initially, the victim was asked to download a mobile application called ADVPMA for trading. At first, he invested ₹10,000 and received profits. He thought it was a good idea to invest more money. Over time, he transferred a total of ₹27.05 lakh,” NDTV quoted the cybercrime DCP as saying.
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The application continued to show a balance of ₹81.69 lakh, including profits. However, when the victim attempted to withdraw the amount, the withdrawal option was blocked.
“The people running the WhatsApp group then demanded an additional ₹50 lakh, claiming it was needed for processing and taxes,” the cybercrime officer said.
Realising he had been cheated, the victim approached the Hyderabad police and lodged a complaint. A case has been registered and an investigation is under way.
Authorities have advised reporting such frauds immediately to the cybercrime helpline 1930 or through the official cybercrime portal.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
