Third accused held in Rs 57.9L digital arrest fraud

A Cyber Crime Police Station team arrested the third accused involved in connection with a Rs 57.9-lakh digital arrest fraud.

The case was registered on January 21, 2025, when 83-year-old Rajendra, a resident of Sector-16, lodged a complaint. A retired employee from HMT, Pinjore, he stated that on January 16, he received a WhatsApp call from a person claiming to be an officer from the Hyderabad Police Headquarters. The caller alleged that a money-laundering case had been filed against him and that he must reach Hyderabad within two hours.

When Rajendra said he could not travel, he was connected to a man named “Goyal” who was said to have fled abroad after fraudulently using documents linked with Rajendra’s Aadhaar card. On this pretext, the victim was placed under a “digital arrest” and threatened to remain on camera continuously for three days, without informing anyone.

The victim ended up transferring Rs 57.90 lakh from his bank accounts over three days. Later realising that he had been cheated, Rajendra approached the police, who registered the case under Sections 316(2), 318(4) and 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

On August 13, police arrested Birbal alias Sunil, a resident of Soundwa village, Churu, Rajasthan). He was produced in court on August 14 and remanded to six days’ police custody. His mobile phones, bank accounts, digital transactions, and links with other accused are under detailed investigation.

Earlier, on July 29, two accused—Manish, son of Ramesh, and Amit, son of Satbir, both from Dadoli village, Hisar—were arrested and later remanded to judicial custody. Information gathered from them led to Birbal’s arrest.

The police have advised citizens not to fall prey to unknown calls or “digital arrest” threats, and to immediately inform the Cyber Police Station in case of such indients.