Four held in Rs 1.38 crore online fraud in Himachal

In a major breakthrough, the Cyber Crime Police Station, North Zone, has arrested four individuals involved in a series of cyber frauds amounting to Rs 1.38 crore across the districts of Kangra, Chamba and Una. The arrests were made in Maharashtra following an intensive investigation and the police successfully recovered Rs 15 lakh from the accused.

One of the major cases involved a resident of Bhattu Samula village in Palampur, Kangra, who was duped of Rs 40 lakh in 2023 through an online investment scam that promised massive returns. Another victim lost Rs 22 lakh in a similar manner. The largest case uncovered was a “digital arrest” fraud amounting to Rs 76 lakh, where the victim was manipulated through fake legal threats and coerced into transferring large sums of money.

In response to these serious offences, a special investigation team from Himachal Pradesh was sent to Maharashtra, where they apprehended the suspects involved in the frauds.

Among those arrested is Deepak Cheema, from whom Rs 5 lakh was recovered. In a separate case, Ashish was also arrested in Maharashtra. Puneet Jain and Abhishek Thorve, arrested in connection with the digital arrest scam, were found in possession of Rs 5 lakh each.

The operation was conducted as part of the investigation into three registered cybercrime cases. A police official stated, “The team not only apprehended the accused but also recovered a substantial amount of the defrauded money.”

Following these developments, the Himachal Pradesh Police have issued a public advisory urging citizens to stay alert against online scams and to immediately report any suspicious digital activity to law enforcement authorities.