New Delhi, Jan 9 : The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit of Delhi Police busted a digital arrest syndicate and arrested five men, including two private bank employees, for cheating an elderly man of around Rs 1 crore, officials said on Friday.
The accused targeted the 80-year-old victim by impersonating officials of law enforcement and central agencies, placing him and his wife under digital arrest for seven days, they said.
Police said the fraudsters initially contacted the elderly victim on WhatsApp, posing as officials from telecom and investigative agencies, and falsely claimed that his mobile number and Aadhaar credentials were linked to illegal activities.
The victim was forced to prematurely close fixed deposits, transfer his entire savings and even take a gold loan, after being assured that the money would be returned once a so-called verification process was completed, they said.
“The gang cheated the man of Rs 96 lakh,” a senior police officer in a statement said.
An e-FIR was registered on November 4 last year at the IFSO police station, and an investigation was launched. During the probe, the police analysed bank account details, digital footprints and technical data linked to the fraud, the officer said.
“One of the accused, Pradeep Kumar (40), was traced to Hisar in Haryana. It further revealed the use of multiple mobile handsets and led to the arrest of another accused, Namandeep Malik (23), also from Hisar,” he added.
Subsequently, a third accused, Shashikant Pattanayak (36), was arrested from Bhubaneswar in Odisha. Who played a key role in operating beneficiary accounts, facilitating fraudulent GST registrations and layering the defrauded money through multiple accounts to conceal the trail, the officer said.
“Further investigation revealed the involvement of two officials — a senior sales manager, Nilesh Kumar (38), and a sales officer, Chandan Kumar (38) — of a private bank’s branch in west Delhi, who allegedly assisted the gang by opening a fake current account using forged documents. This account was used to illegally divert and siphon off the proceeds of the cyber fraud,” he said
Police said that further investigation is underway to identify additional conspirators, trace the complete money trail and examine the role of other facilitators linked to the racket.
