{
  "id": 12205972,
  "title": "Mumbai Crime Branch Arrests 36-Year-Old BTech Dropout Over 2,805 Malicious APKs Linked To ₹15.75-Crore Cyber Fraud",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/mumbai-crime-branch-arrests-36-year-old-btech-dropout-over-2-805",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-05T17:29:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-crime-branch-arrests-36-year-old-btech-dropout-over-2805-malicious-apks-linked-to-1575-crore-cyber-fraud"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mumbai, October 5, 2026: The Mumbai Crime Branch has apprehended a 36-year-old software developer, Pankaj Gupta, for allegedly creating and distributing 2,805 malicious APK files that led to a cyber fraud of ₹15.75 crore. The accused, originally from Madhya Pradesh, was arrested following a complaint registered by a 72-year-old senior citizen who was duped of Rs 5.62 lakh. The fraudsters posed as a Bank of India employee and tricked the victim into downloading the malicious APK file, which then stole his personal and debit card details. The accused had allegedly sold these malicious files to various cybercrime gangs, which were then used in various fraudulent activities, including senior citizen card verification, pension card verification, life certificate verification and banking-related frauds. The investigation revealed that the 2,805 APK files were used to defraud 9,673 people across India, resulting in financial losses of around Rs 15.75 crore. Police have identified 88 cases across India, with eight in Maharashtra and five in Mumbai.",
  "summary": "Mumbai, October 5, 2026: The Property Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 36-year-old software developer and BTech dropout from Madhya Pradesh for allegedly developing and selling malicious Android Application Package (APK) files that were used by cybercrime gangs to dupe thousands of people across the country. The accused identified as Pankaj Gupta (35). Senior Citizen Duped Of Rs…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}