Eight held for ‘digital arrest’ of city couple, duping them of ₹14 crore

Eight persons, including a priest, have been arrested in connection with the “digital arrest” of an elderly couple who were duped of over ₹14 crore, a senior officer said on Saturday.

Those arrested were either facilitators or holders of mule bank accounts. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations) Vinit Kumar said the key corinspirators, who impersonated police officers and coerced the couple into sharing their financial details, are based in Cambodia.

Cyberfraud network

“It is a well-coordinated network engaged in systematic cyberfraud through the use of advanced digital tools and mule bank accounts to siphon funds. The callers, based abroad, made calls through a SIMBOX,” the DCP said. A SIMBOX is a device that allows multiple SIM cards and routes international calls to local numbers.

“Those arrested are part of a wider network. Some of them facilitated mule accounts and contacts,” said the officer.

According to the police, a complaint was received from Dr. Indira Taneja, 77, and her husband Om Taneja, 81, who live in Delhi, stating that they lost ₹14.84 crore to fraudsters who impersonated police officers and promised to clear their names in a “money laundering case”. Following the complaint, a case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 8 (default of payment), 318(4) (dishonestly), 319 (cheating by personation) and 340 (dishonest use of a document) on January 10, and an 11-member team was constituted to conduct the investigation.

Inter-State operations

“Through exhaustive analysis of digital footprints, technical surveillance and on-ground intelligence, the team conducted multiple raids in various States and got a breakthrough with the arrest of Patel Divyang from Vadodara, Gujarat, whose bank account received ₹4 crore of the siphoned money directly from the victims’ accounts,” said Mr. Kumar.

Subsequently, Shitole Krutik and Ankit Mishra alias Robin, both from Vadodara, were arrested. Mahavir Sharma alias Neel was held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

The police team also arrested Arun Kumar Tiwari from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, whose account had received ₹2.10 crore, and another accused, Pradyuman Tiwari alias S.P. Tiwari, a priest, from the same city.

The probe also led to the arrest of Bhupendra Mishra and Adesh Yadav from Lucknow. The DCP said ₹2.80 crore of the siphoned money has been frozen and further investigation is under way to identify and arrest others involved in the case.