Pramesh S Jain
In what is being described as Karnataka’s biggest“Digital arrest”cyber fraud case,cybercriminals posing as CBI officers allegedly duped an elderly woman of nearly Rs.24 crore by threatening her with a fake money laundering case and keeping her under constant psychological pressure for months.
The accused has been identified as:
1) N Sivagnanam from Erode,Tamilnadu.
(2) Akkach Mallick from Mumbai, Maharastra.
(3) Palak Bhai Patel from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
(4) Amit Narendra Patel from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
(5) Om Prakash Rajput from New Delhi.
(6) Gaurav Kumar from Bihar.
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The victim,a resident of Shivajinagar in Bengaluru,had earlier worked as a teacher in Dubai and later retired.
Senior officer told reporters that she had sold properties in Bengaluru and Mumbai and was planning to relocate to the United States to live with her children.
According to investigators,the fraudsters contacted the woman through video calls,impersonating CBI officials.
They allegedly told her that her bank accounts were linked to a money laundering case and warned her not to speak to anyone regarding the investigation.
The accused then convinced the victim to transfer money through RTGS transactions under the pretext of “verification”and“clearance”of funds.
Police said the woman was mentally harassed and intimidated continuously from January till May this year.
During the course of the fraud,the victim allegedly transferred nearly Rs.24 crore to 22 different bank accounts operated by the accused persons.
Despite receiving such a huge amount,the fraudsters allegedly continued pressuring the woman for more money.
As a result,she reportedly approached the ICICI Bank Cantonment branch in Bengaluru to pledge around 1.3 kilograms of gold jewellery.
Bank officials grew suspicious after noticing the unusually large quantity of gold ornaments and alerted the police.
Officials from the CCB Cyber Crime police rushed to the bank and questioned the woman.Initially reluctant to reveal details,she later disclosed that she had been trapped in a so-called “digital arrest” scam.
Based on her complaint,the CCB Cyber Crime police registered a case and launched an investigation.
Police have so far arrested five accused,including Gaurav Kumar and Om Prakash Rajput,during operations conducted in Delhi and Allahabad.
Investigators have also frozen bank accounts containing nearly Rs.3 crore in connection with the case.Further investigation is underway.
