‘Digital arrest’: Man held for defrauding victims of lakhs

With the arrest of one person from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, the Kurukshetra police have claimed to have bust a cyber-fraud gang with links to Cambodia-based fraudsters.

The accused was duping people of lakhs of rupees under the guise of ‘digital arrests’.He has been identified as Anikant Bhat, a resident of Deepnagar in Dehradun, who was carrying out frauds on the instruction of his Cambodia-based handlers. Police have recovered six mobile phones, one laptop, 278 SIM cards, six SIM boxes, one camera, two Wi-Fi devices, and one passport from the possession of the accused. Speaking to mediapersons on Monday, Kurukshetra SP Nitish Agarwal said the accused had been trained in Cambodia to commit cyber fraud.

His handlers in Cambodia monitored his activities round the clock through a camera installed in his room.

“A SIM box works like a mini-exchange. Each box can hold up to 256 SIM cards, allowing the accused to make simultaneous calls to several people without using mobile phones. These boxes were imported from Cambodia,” the SP added. The SP said a case was registered on the complaint of Bal Krishan, a retired Army official from Sector 2, Kurukshetra. He alleged that, on August 24, he had received a call from a woman posing as a bank employee, who falsely claimed that he had an unpaid credit card bill of Rs 1 lakh.

Soon after, calls from multiple numbers followed, with the callers claiming his Aadhaar card was being misused for money laundering in the crores. Under threat and continuous pressure, he was forced into depositing Rs 29.85 lakh on August 28, and Rs 49 lakh on September 1 into accounts provided by the fraudsters.

When he realised he had been duped, he approached the Kurukshetra cyber crime police station, where a case was registered in this regard, leading to the accused’s arrest. Agarwal clarified that ‘digital arrest’ was a fictitious term. There is no legal provision for such action in Indian law. He advised citizens to remain vigilant and immediately inform family members, approach the nearest police station, or call the National Cyber Helpline at 1930 if they received such threats. “Awareness is the best shield against cyber fraud,” he added.