Days after Pune elderly couple’s ‘digital arrest’ ordeal, husband dies of heart attack

Subsequently, on a video call, cyber fraudsters posing as “IPS officer Vijay Khanna” and “CBI officer Daya Nayak” threatened the man that he and his wife will be arrested. They asked him “if they will prefer jail arrest or digital home arrest”. The elderly couple said they would choose digital arrest. The couple was made to sit before a video claiming they were under surveillance and threatened not to discuss the case with anyone.

The husband and wife were asked to share all information about their bank accounts, savings and deposits. They were asked to transfer these funds to “government accounts for verification” and were told that the money would be returned to them after their names are cleared from the case. Between August 21 and September 19, the couple was coerced and threatened to make five large transfers totalling Rs 1.19 crore. As the fraudsters continued demanding money, the couple realised they had been defrauded and approached the cyber crime police station and submitted their complaint on September 22. On October 23, the 82-year-old man passed away due to a heart attack.

Senior Inspector Swapnali Shinde said, “It is really unfortunate that the 82-year-old man targeted in a digital arrest scam passed away due to a heart attack in days. While we cannot say with certainty that the two things were linked, the case certainly highlights how the victims of cyber scams suffer traumas. We have highlighted this aspect in our awareness and sensitisation campaigns on cyber crimes.”

Cyber investigators have flagged concern that despite extensive awareness campaigns and sensitisation efforts by the government and law enforcement agencies, incidents of digital arrest, online extortion and blackmail continue to be reported. In an advisory issued in May last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs had noted a significant rise in complaints related to intimidation, blackmail, extortion, and so-called “digital arrests.” These scams are typically carried out by cyber criminals impersonating officials from law enforcement agencies such as the police, CBI, Narcotics Department, RBI, and Enforcement Directorate and judges.

Such frauds have been serious enough to be flagged at the highest levels, including by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address last year. As previously reported by The Indian Express, these scams are orchestrated by complex, multilayered syndicates operating across borders. Victims’ money is often funneled into mule accounts and then routed to international cybercrime networks using cryptocurrency transfers.