2 arrested for ‘digital arrest’ fraud; 82-year-old duped of Rs 10.7 crore

The fraudster further claimed that the victim’s bank account was linked to an alleged scam involving Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, who has faced investigations by multiple agencies.

Subsequently, another fraudster posing as an officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation asked the complainant to write an affidavit admitting his involvement in the ‘scam’ and to appear for an “online court hearing”. Police said the fraudsters staged a fake hearing, during which a person posing as a ‘judge’ threatened the victim and instructed him to keep the proceedings secret.

The ‘judge’ told the complainant that, considering his age, a government-appointed lawyer would be provided to clear his name, but he would be required to remain on a video call for 24 hours.

Later, fraudsters posing as a lawyer and a judge manipulated the complainant into sharing details of his finances, including deposits and bank balances. Between January 23 and 30, he was instructed to transfer funds to so-called Reserve Bank of India accounts for “fund verification”. Police said these were, in fact, mule accounts. The victim eventually transferred Rs 10.7 crore in seven transactions.

During the probe, police traced the mule accounts and found that a portion of the money was withdrawn from an ATM in Karve Nagar by Dhantole and Deshmukh.

The duo was arrested last week and a court remanded them to police custody from February 21 to February 27. During the investigation, police also identified two more suspects from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Solapur, who are allegedly linked to an international cybercrime network.

So far, police have seized Rs 4.78 lakh from the accused and frozen Rs 40 lakh in bank accounts, according to a press release issued on Saturday.