Hardik Pandya’s Former Teammate Among Two Arrested For Scam In Hyderabad: Report | Cricket News

Former Baroda medium-pacer Rishi Arothe, who once played with Hardik Pandya and his brother Krunal on the domestic stage, has been arrested along with another individual for a scam in Hyderabad. This is his second arrest and this time he has allegedly duped a city resident of a whopping Rs 32 lakh in a stock market investment fraud.

According to a report in The Times of India, alongside Rishi, the cybercrime police arrested Vadodara resident Inamdar Vinayaka Rajender, aka Nikhil, as well. Rishi is the son of former Baroda cricketer Tushar Arothe.

The police stated that Rishi and Nikhil were arrested in Vadodara on Thursday and transported to Hyderabad. They appeared in court on Friday, which sent them to judicial custody.

Rishi and Nikhil, aided by their associates, enticed investors with social media ads that impersonated well-known stock brokerage firms.

Victims who clicked the links were added to WhatsApp channels like Aditya Birla Stock Elite 678 and instructed to download a fake trading app.

The fake app dashboards showed skyrocketing profits, while Rishi and Nikhil siphoned off deposits through several bank accounts.

In January, a Hyderabad resident fell prey to the scam, losing a staggering Rs 32 lakh. By examining the beneficiary account details, investigators traced the trail to Gujarat, where Nikhil had provided six bank accounts to the cyber fraudsters for a commission, while Rishi converted the funds into USDT on Binance and transferred them abroad to the criminals.

“Among the accused, former cricketer Rishi Tushar, alias Vikranth, has a criminal record. He was arrested by the SOG of the Gujarat police in 2024 for cheating and diversion of the fraudulent amount,” cybercrime DCP D Kavitha told The Times of India. 

“They are linked to 12 similar cases in eight states, including Telangana, Haryana, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra. Two mobile phones used for fund transfers have been seized,” Kavitha added.