Nagpur: A 40-year-old senior scientist from Nagpur was allegedly cheated of ₹2.87 crore in an online investment fraud after cybercriminals lured him with promises of high returns through stock market trading.

The complainant, a senior scientist at the Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT), Nagpur, resides in the Bajaj Nagar area.

According to the complaint, the fraudsters allegedly created a fake investment-related advertisement on Instagram and approached the victim with promises of substantial profits from share trading. They subsequently added him to a Telegram channel identified as “FTMO/FTMOCS”, claiming that the channel would help him earn high returns from the stock market.

The accused allegedly gained the victim’s confidence and sent him links through which he was instructed to carry out stock trading and make investments. Believing the assurances, the victim reportedly transferred a total of ₹2,87,29,000 at different times as instructed by the fraudsters.

However, when the victim sought to withdraw his money, the accused allegedly demanded that he first pay taxes. Despite this, the invested amount and promised returns were not returned, following which the victim realised that he had been cheated.

Based on his complaint, the Cyber Police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

Police have launched an investigation to identify the accused and trace the money transferred by the victim.