Woman arrested in Raigarh for duping rural women of ₹70.78 lakh in stock market scam
Raipur: Raigarh cyber police arrested a 37-year-old woman from Sakti district for allegedly defrauding rural women of ₹70,77,901 by promising double returns on stock market investments, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused has been identified as Menka Sarthi, a resident of Bartunga village under Dabhra police station limits in Sakti district. Police seized a mobile phone, three bank account passbooks and ATM cards used in the commission of the crime.
Police said Sarthi’s husband, Akshay Sarthi, and her mother, Meera Sonwani, were co-accused in the case and remain at large. Investigating officers revealed that additional suspects are under scrutiny as the probe continues.
The case came to light after Hara Bai Nishad (36), a resident of Jatri village under Pusaur police station limits, along with several affected women, lodged a complaint. According to the complaint, Sarthi frequently visited her parental home in Jatri and persuaded local women to invest in the stock market through her and her husband.
Sarthi assured the victims of high returns within a short period, guaranteeing that she and her husband would personally compensate them if the investments failed to yield double the amount.
Relying on these assurances, women from Jatri village handed over cash and transferred funds online between 6 April 2025 and 24 October 2025.
Complaint details indicate that Sarthi collected ₹17.53 lakh from Hara Bai Nishad, ₹17.24 lakh from Anita Nishad, ₹9 lakh from Pushpa Sidar, ₹7.50 lakh from Vishnu Priya Nishad, ₹5 lakh from Dujkunwar Yadav, ₹3.40 lakh from Munni Bai Sarthi, ₹3.30 lakh from Mohanmati Sidar, ₹3 lakh each from Aarti Sidar and Phoolbai Yadav, and ₹1.80 lakh from Sushila Nishad, along with smaller sums from other villagers, totaling ₹70,77,901.
Initially, Sarthi paid minor returns to build trust before stopping all payments. When the victims demanded their principal back, the accused refused to return the money and threatened them with legal action.
Investigations revealed that Sarthi diverted the collected funds for personal use and rotated the cash among associates instead of investing it in stock markets. Several victims had taken bank loans to fund these investments and are now repaying the EMIs.
Following a detailed inquiry instructed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shashi Mohan Singh, Raigarh cyber police registered a case against Menka Sarthi, Akshay Sarthi and Meera Sonwani on 22 July 2026 under Sections 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Scrutiny of financial records revealed transactions worth lakhs across three bank accounts belonging to Sarthi. A cyber police team raided Bartunga village in Sakti district, apprehended Sarthi and brought her to Raigarh.
During interrogation, Sarthi confessed to hatching the scheme with a male friend before involving her husband and mother. Her husband tracked the transaction details, while her mother convinced local women to hand over cash and deposit money into specified accounts.
“Citizens must avoid falling for individuals offering guaranteed high returns or double money in the stock market. Verify the credibility of any person or agency before investing hard-earned money, and report any fraudulent activity immediately,” SSP Singh said.
The arrest team included Cyber Police Station In-charge Vijay Chelak, Sub-Inspector Sanjay Nag, Constables Govind Patel and Deepak Pradhan, and Woman Constable Anita Ekka, under the supervision of Additional Superintendents of Police Anil Soni and Pushpendra Baghel, and DSP Shikhar Maravi.
