The Intelligence & Strategic Operations arrested two people accused of duping at 90-year-old of Rs 3.42 crore. The police also managed to recover Rs 2.2 crore of the cheated amount, reported TOI.
The digital arrest started on March 12, when the elderly man received multiple unidentified calls from individuals impersonating officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Maharashtra police.
The callers claimed that several FIRs were lodged against the senior citizen and threatened him with immediate arrest. The scammers showed forged court documents and orders through video calls to trick the retired surgeon into a fabricated virtual hearing.
During the fake hearing, the victim was coerced into liquidating all his fixed deposits. He transferred a large sum to three designated bank accounts, believing he was resolving the issue, instead he was being threatened with severe legal consequences and harm to family. A total of Rs 3.42 crore was duped, and a case was registered.
Deputy commissioner of police (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari formed a team under sub-inspector Manjeet under the supervision of ACP (IFSO) Vivekanand Jha. "During the inquiry, it was found that the money was transferred to 185 accounts across the country, including those in Kerala, Gujarat, Odisha, Bihar and other states," an officer told TOI.
The cheated amount was frozen in the receiver's accounts and a process for the reversal of money was started, leading to the recovery of Rs 2.2 crore.
"Among the fraudulent transactions, a substantial sum of Rs 1 crore was transferred to an account in Jaipur. This entire amount was fully retrieved from the primary account itself. The remaining Rs 2.42 crore was transferred in two instalments—Rs 1 crore and Rs 1.42 crore—to accounts in Assam. Cops eventually retrieved approximately Rs 1.1 crore from one of the Assam accounts," an investigator said.
An additional Rs 19 lakh was being held across more than 180 bank accounts. As of now, approximately Rs 4 lakh has been successfully recovered out of this.
Police identified two suspects while analysing digital footprints and conducting technical surveillance. They then conducted a raid in Ghaziabad and arrested Amit Sharma, also known as Rahul.
Further investigation uncovered the involvement of another suspect, Hari Swargiary, who was apprehended in Guwahati, Assam. "During the investigation, multiple layers of accounts were discovered. When we questioned the account holders where money was transferred, it was revealed that they sold their account details to Sharma. Upon capturing Sharma, he disclosed that he shared these details with Swargiary," police said.
The inquiry also revealed that Swargiary was in contact with scammers from Nepal and Dubai.
Sharma is a resident of Anand Vihar, Delhi and Swargiary, a B.Sc graduate, resides in Assam.
As many as three mobile phones, SIM cards and other digital documents linked to the fraudulent activities were seized during the operation.
The digital arrest started on March 12, when the elderly man received multiple unidentified calls from individuals impersonating officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Maharashtra police.
The callers claimed that several FIRs were lodged against the senior citizen and threatened him with immediate arrest. The scammers showed forged court documents and orders through video calls to trick the retired surgeon into a fabricated virtual hearing.
During the fake hearing, the victim was coerced into liquidating all his fixed deposits. He transferred a large sum to three designated bank accounts, believing he was resolving the issue, instead he was being threatened with severe legal consequences and harm to family. A total of Rs 3.42 crore was duped, and a case was registered.
Deputy commissioner of police (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari formed a team under sub-inspector Manjeet under the supervision of ACP (IFSO) Vivekanand Jha. "During the inquiry, it was found that the money was transferred to 185 accounts across the country, including those in Kerala, Gujarat, Odisha, Bihar and other states," an officer told TOI.
The cheated amount was frozen in the receiver's accounts and a process for the reversal of money was started, leading to the recovery of Rs 2.2 crore.
"Among the fraudulent transactions, a substantial sum of Rs 1 crore was transferred to an account in Jaipur. This entire amount was fully retrieved from the primary account itself. The remaining Rs 2.42 crore was transferred in two instalments—Rs 1 crore and Rs 1.42 crore—to accounts in Assam. Cops eventually retrieved approximately Rs 1.1 crore from one of the Assam accounts," an investigator said.
An additional Rs 19 lakh was being held across more than 180 bank accounts. As of now, approximately Rs 4 lakh has been successfully recovered out of this.
Police identified two suspects while analysing digital footprints and conducting technical surveillance. They then conducted a raid in Ghaziabad and arrested Amit Sharma, also known as Rahul.
Further investigation uncovered the involvement of another suspect, Hari Swargiary, who was apprehended in Guwahati, Assam. "During the investigation, multiple layers of accounts were discovered. When we questioned the account holders where money was transferred, it was revealed that they sold their account details to Sharma. Upon capturing Sharma, he disclosed that he shared these details with Swargiary," police said.
The inquiry also revealed that Swargiary was in contact with scammers from Nepal and Dubai.
Sharma is a resident of Anand Vihar, Delhi and Swargiary, a B.Sc graduate, resides in Assam.
As many as three mobile phones, SIM cards and other digital documents linked to the fraudulent activities were seized during the operation.
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