The Sessions Court for Greater Bombay has rejected the regular bail application filed by two individuals from Gujarat, Bhargav s/o. Kishorbhai Borad and Arvind s/o. Amrutbhai Chotliya, in connection with a sophisticated cyber fraud involving the creation of a forged website for selling IPL 2024 cricket match tickets.

Additional Sessions Judge Rajesh A. Sasne (Court Room No. 30) issued the order on April 26, 2024, denying the bail application due to the ongoing investigation and the clear, active roles played by the applicants in facilitating the fraud.

The Forged BookMyShow Link Scam

The applicants were arrested in connection with Cr. No. 17/2024 registered at the South Cyber Police Station, Mumbai. They are charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (419, 420, 465, 468, 471, 120-B) and the Information Technology (IT) Act (Section 66(c), 66(d)).

The prosecution’s case, based on the report lodged by informant Anil Makhija, is that unknown accused created a forged link of “BookMyShow” to obtain online ticket bookings for IPL 2024 matches, thereby cheating the informant’s company and the general public.

Specific Roles of the Applicants

The court found that the applicants were not merely innocent, as they claimed, but had specific and crucial roles in the commission of the organized fraud:

• Applicant No. 1 (Bhargav Borad): He provided his bank account and mobile number specifically to be used in the commission of the offence to receive the fraudulent funds.
• Applicant No. 2 (Arvind Chotliya): He was assigned the job of withdrawing the collected amount from the bank account that received the money from the victims.

Rejection Based on Ongoing Investigation

The defense counsel, Mr. Shailesh S. Kharat, argued that the accused were innocent, recently arrested (March 30, 2024), and that nothing was to be recovered from them.

However, the Judge accepted the prosecution’s objections, noting that the investigation is still at a “primary stage.” The court concluded:

• There is CCTV footage evidence that needs to be further investigated.
• The release of the accused at this initial stage of a complex cyber crime “will hamper the investigation.”
• The applicants were actively involved in “creating forged Website and cheating the general public.”

Bail Application No. 1007 of 2024 was therefore rejected.