Thane: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Thane Police has arrested a man accused of masterminding a massive share investment scam that defrauded hundreds of Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel across Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and several other states. While early estimates placed the fraud at around ₹50 crore, investigators now believe the total amount may exceed ₹100 crore.
So far, 40 RPF personnel have officially approached the EOW with complaints.
The accused, 30-year-old Omprakash Yadav from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, has been remanded to police custody until Monday.
According to investigators, Yadav had been active in online trading since 2020 and enticed victims with promises of unusually high returns ranging from 5% to 10% on stock market investments. He initially operated from an office in Mumbai before setting up his own establishment in Kalyan’s Khadakpada area. Police said he leveraged his connections within the RPF, enabling the scam to spread rapidly through word-of-mouth. He also allegedly arranged for several victims to obtain loans through his “settings” with certain bank officials.
Police stated that a few bank employees may also come under scrutiny for their suspected role in facilitating these loans.
The scam affected RPF personnel across numerous locations in Maharashtra—including Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Bhusawal, Nagpur, Solapur, Nashik, Chandrapur, and Jalgaon—and extended to states such as Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
EOW DCP Parag Manere has urged all RPF staff who were duped to come forward and file their complaints.
