In a significant breakthrough, the south region cyber crime police in Mumbai have arrested a 27-year-old company director in connection with a sophisticated digital arrest case. The scam resulted in an 85-year-old retired teacher being defrauded of a staggering Rs 9 crore.
Swift Action After Complaint
The arrest was made within a day of the victim's complaint being officially registered. The police identified and apprehended Sangram Baliram Babar, a resident of Satara, who was shown as a director of P S Enterprises. A portion of the illicit funds from the scam was traced to this company's bank account, which was opened using Babar's documents.
Babar was produced before a Mumbai court on Tuesday and has been remanded in police custody until December 26. Investigations revealed that the same bank account is linked to two other major fraud cases where senior citizens lost a combined Rs 5.65 crore. In total, there are six complaints registered against this account on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.
Modus Operandi of the Digital Arrest
The elaborate fraud began when the victim, an 85-year-old Girgaum resident who lives with his daughter while his other daughter resides in the US, received a call. The caller posed as Inspector Deepak Sharma from Panchavati police station in Nashik. Sharma falsely claimed that a bank account in the senior citizen's name was involved in a money laundering case related to the banned outfit, Popular Front of India (PFI), and threatened legal action.
The scam escalated when a person dressed in a police uniform contacted the complainant via a WhatsApp video call, pretending to be a senior officer. This individual sent fabricated documents, including an arrest warrant, an RBI freeze warrant, and a confidentiality agreement. The fraudsters instructed the victim not to inform anyone about the case and to transfer all his money to accounts they claimed belonged to the Supreme Court for "investigation purposes."
The victim, kept under this so-called digital arrest from December 1 to December 22, complied and transferred Rs 9 crore. This sum included Rs 3 crore that was directly sent to the accused company's account. The massive transaction raised suspicions, and a vigilant bank employee alerted the victim's family, which ultimately led to the police complaint.
Ongoing Investigation and Team
A specialized team is probing the intricate details of this cyber fraud. The investigation is being led by Joint Commissioner of Crime Branch Lakhmi Gautam, with the team comprising Senior Inspector Nandkumar Gopale and Assistant Inspector Sachin Trimukhe.
This case highlights the alarming trend of digital arrest scams specifically targeting vulnerable senior citizens. The Mumbai police's swift action in tracing and arresting one of the key players involved in the financial trail underscores the ongoing efforts to combat such technologically-enabled crimes.
