This is an archive article published on September 26, 2024
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Senior NBCC official duped in case of ‘digital arrest’, 3 arrested: Delhi Police
According to police, the accused kept video calling the victim on WhatsApp, claiming she was under digital arrest till the CBI made their way to nab her.
Three people have been arrested in the case. Of the duped amount, Rs 20 lakh was returned to the victim.
A senior official in the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) was duped of Rs 55 lakh in a case of ‘digital arrest’, said police. Three people have been arrested in the case from Burari, a Delhi police officer said.
According to police, on September 9, the 35-year-old woman received a call, wherein the caller claimed to be a customs official from Terminal 2 of Mumbai International Airport. “The caller claimed customs officials had intercepted a parcel on September 6 containing 16 fake passports, 58 ATM cards, and 40 grams of MDMA, with her details listed as the sender. He further claimed Mumbai Police had issued an arrest warrant against her, and she must surrender,” said DCP (IFSO Special Cell) Hemant Tiwari.
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According to police, the accused kept video calling the victim on WhatsApp, claiming she was under digital arrest till the CBI made their way to nab her.
“Over the course of these calls, different individuals posed as senior officers from the Mumbai Police, CBI and various law enforcement agencies,” a police officer said.
The accused then told the woman that they could be mistaking her for someone else. “They asked her to transfer Rs 55 lakh to verify her account, and to not proceed with money laundering charges,” the officer said.
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After the transfer, the police impersonators vanished. The woman filed a complaint with the IFSO on September 12.
Tracking the money led IFSO to the accounts of a fake company used to funnel the proceeds from frauds through multiple accounts. Tracing the mobile numbers used in the fraud, the police reached the alleged proprietors of the company — Prabhat Kumar, 24, Rajesh Kumar, 27 and the man responsible for creating a web of bank accounts in the company’s name, Arjun Singh, 29, an MCA degree holder.
“They would pose as CBI officials and customs officials and threatened people with arrest. Then, they would give them a solution to avoid arrest and dupe them of money. Their involvement in other cases and a possible link to an international syndicate is being investigated, ” DCP Tiwari said.
Of the defrauded amount, Rs 20 lakh was seized in an HDFC account and has been returned to the victim, police said.
Three people have been arrested in the case. Of the duped amount, Rs 20 lakh was returned to the victim. 
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