‘Digital arrest’ scam: 3 from Gujarat held for ‘duping’ Chandigarh senior citizen of Rs 46 lakh

Police said the victim transferred Rs 46 lakh into multiple bank accounts controlled by the accused and their associates. During the probe, Ramesh was identified as the holder of one such bank account in which Rs 15 lakh of the cheated amount was deposited, withdrawn from different locations, and further routed to other accounts.

Police said Ramesh had allegedly provided his bank account to co-accused Yogesh and Hitesh, who in turn supplied it to a person identified as Rafiq, believed to be based in Ahmedabad, on a commission basis.

The trio were apprehended from Gandhidham, Gujrat and brought to Chandigarh on transit remand. They were subsequently produced before a local court, which granted two days’ police remand. After completion of custodial interrogation, they have been sent to judicial custody, a police official said.

During questioning, the accused reportedly admitted to facilitating cyber fraud by allowing their bank accounts to be used for routing defrauded money.

Police said further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend other members of the network involved in the fraud.

Police officials added that efforts are being intensified to track the money trail and dismantle the larger cybercrime syndicate operating across states.