Former University Vice Chancellor Defrauded of Rs 35 Lakh in Elaborate Digital Arrest Scam
In a shocking case of cyber fraud that highlights the growing sophistication of digital crime, a 77-year-old former vice chancellor from Kolkata was cheated of Rs 35 lakh through a meticulously orchestrated digital arrest fraud. The victim, Ashoke Ranjan Thakur, a respected academic and administrator, was subjected to nearly two weeks of virtual house arrest starting in the first week of January.
Impersonation of Cyber Crime Officials
According to police investigations, Thakur and his wife, residents of Salt Lake in Kolkata, were systematically duped by criminals who impersonated officials from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and various law enforcement agencies. The fraudsters employed psychological manipulation, threatening Thakur with arrest under the stringent National Security Act unless he complied with their demands.
Fabricated Criminal Allegations and Supreme Court Notice
The elaborate scam unfolded between January 1 and January 14, during which Thakur received multiple threatening calls. The callers accused him of having connections with Sadakat Khan, an individual arrested last year in connection with a human trafficking racket operating from Cambodia that has been linked to cybercrime syndicates.
"I was shown a Supreme Court notice wherein I was depicted as a suspect, and it bore my Aadhar Card number," Thakur revealed. "It stated that within a day of the notice I shall be taken into custody, and this may lead to freezing of all my assets and a remand of one and a half years."
Virtual Captivity and Financial Manipulation
The fraudsters enforced a regime of virtual captivity, compelling Thakur to share his screen with his wife to ensure her presence during all subsequent communications. "The 'cops' asked me to share the screen with my wife, so that for the next few days whenever any conversation took place she was present. I was forced to report my whereabouts every two hours," he added, describing the psychological pressure he endured.
Police reports indicate that the accused manipulated Thakur into liquidating his deposits under the pretext of "verification" procedures. This manipulation led to two significant financial transfers:
- On January 3, Rs 20 lakh was transferred to an account under the name Shree Ganesh Telecom.
- On January 7, an additional Rs 15 lakh was transferred to another account registered as Nature Bio Agri Chem Pvt Ltd.
Following these transactions, the perpetrators abruptly ceased all communication, leaving Thakur to realize he had been victimized in a sophisticated financial fraud.
Background of the Victim
Ashoke Ranjan Thakur is no ordinary citizen. He served as the pro-vice chancellor of Jadavpur University from March 2001 to December 2003 and has held vice chancellor positions at both state and private universities. His distinguished academic and administrative career makes this targeting particularly alarming, demonstrating that even educated, experienced individuals can fall prey to well-executed cyber scams.
Growing Threat of Digital Arrest Frauds
This incident underscores the evolving nature of cybercrime in India, where fraudsters are increasingly using official-sounding designations and legal threats to intimidate victims. The digital arrest phenomenon represents a new frontier in financial fraud, combining psychological manipulation with technological deception to exploit victims' fears of legal consequences.
Law enforcement agencies are urging citizens to exercise extreme caution when receiving unsolicited calls from individuals claiming to represent government or law enforcement bodies, particularly those demanding financial transactions or personal information under threat of legal action.
