Man arrested for cheating actor Annu Kapoor of ₹4.3 lakh after cyber fraud

A 28-year-old man has been arrested from Mumbai, almost two months after he allegedly cheated Bollywood actor Annu Kapoor of ₹4.36 lakh under the pretext of updating his bank KYC details, police said on Wednesday. The accused, Ashish Paswan, was arrested from suburban Andheri on Monday. Also read: After getting robbed in Paris, Annu Kapoor duped of ₹4.3 lakh in cyber fraud

Ashish Paswan is a native of Darbhanga in Bihar. He earns commission by helping people open bank accounts, an official said. A special team identified Ashish through technical evidence, his mobile phone number and the details of online transactions. The photograph the accused had submitted, while opening his account with the private bank, where Annu Kapoor also has an account, also matched, he added.

Police recovered some documents and two mobile phones from Ashish. The investigation revealed Ashish had called up Annu Kapoor in September posing as an executive working with the main branch of the private bank. He told the actor his ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) details were not updated in the bank’s record and if he fails to take immediate action, the account will be suspended.

Under the pretext of completing the process, the fraudster managed to get the banking details of the actor and asked him to share the OTP (One-Time Password), as per the First Information Report (FIR). After a while, Anuu Kapoor received a call from the bank’s customer care number informing him his account had been compromised and ₹4.36 lakh were fraudulently transferred.

Shocked, Annu Kapoor rushed to Oshiwara police station and lodged a complaint. Swift action by the police and the bank’s manager ensured ₹3.08 lakh of ₹4.36 lakh transferred into two separate bank accounts were ‘debit froze’, the FIR stated.