MUMBAI: More than a year after a teenage collegian died by suicide over being cheated by cyber scammers, Govt Railway Police (GRP) arrested one of the accused from Madhya Pradesh. Harish Meghwal, the 27-year-old accused, had been booked by the MP police in a separate case of vehicle theft. He is a native of Rajasthan and was a partial beneficiary of the money scammed from the teen.The suicide incident was reported on Jan 21, 2025. The 17-year-old collegian was struck by a train on platform 4 at Jogeshwari station, around 8.10 pm, and succumbed to his injuries. Police subsequently recorded the statement of the motorman, who said he had witnessed the youngster jump before the train. No suicide note was found and the boy’s family was unaware as to what could have pushed him to take the drastic step.As part of their probe, the police went through the youngster’s belongings and quizzed his friends. They sent his phone for forensic analysis. It was revealed that the teen had been targeted in a task fraud online. In Dec 2024, scammers contacted him, over the Telegram app, and convinced him to give virtual ratings to establishments in return for a commission. He started completing the tasks given to him. Next, the scammers asked him to make an investment to earn a higher amount. He paid Rs 49000 through UPI, with two of the five payments made on the same day that he took the drastic step. GRP deduced that the youngster was under stress on finding out that he had been scammed. Based on preliminary probe findings, Andheri GRP registered a case of suicide abetment in Dec 2025.“The phone numbers linked to the UPI IDs of the scammers were switched off. We tracked down one of the bank accounts of the beneficiaries to Rajasthan. It belonged to Meghwal,” said a GRP official.A police team went to Rajasthan but Meghwal’s family was unaware of his whereabouts. The GRP then contacted the local police who said that Meghwal was in an MP prison for vehicle theft. The GRP team then took a transit remand and brought Meghwal from MP to Mumbai.Meghwal reportedly told the GRP that he had handed over his bank kit to a man who offered him a commission for it. His bank account was then used as a mule account. More arrests are likely in the case.
