Vadodara, May 16 (IANS): The Gujarat Police busted a bogus company in Vadodara that claimed to be dealing in the share market and arrested 17 people, said officials here.

Police said the accused cheated people of lakhs of rupees by creating a fraudulent company named 'Angel Broking Customer Care' and forming a WhatsApp group to lure victims.

The gang extorted Rs 94.18 lakh from a senior official in a Vadodara-based company. All arrested individuals were produced in court Thursday and were remanded to police custody for two days.

The police are now identifying the higher-ups involved in the scam, as it is suspected that more significant figures may be orchestrating these fraudulent activities.

According to sources, Ramakrishna Bedundari, originally from Andhra Pradesh and a former top official in Vadodara's cybercrime division, filed the complaint. The accused allegedly sent WhatsApp messages, convincing the victim to trade in the share market under the guise of Angel Security Customer Service. They used falsified documents from Angel One company and sent links explaining the trading process.

An amount of Rs 94.18 lakh was transferred from the complainant's online accounts to various accounts set up by the scammers. Realizing the deceit, the complainant reported the crime to Vadodara's Cyber Crime Police. The police investigation led to the arrest of 17 individuals involved in the scam.