Retired Colonel, wife held under ‘digital arrest’ lose Rs 15.50 lakh; Delhi Police nab 4

New Delhi: The Cyber Police Station of Delhi’s South-West District has busted an interstate cyber-fraud facilitation network involved in sophisticated digital arrest scams and arrested four accused from Punjab and Rajasthan in connection with the case, police said on Friday.

The action followed a complaint from a retired Indian Army Colonel, a resident of Munirka Enclave in New Delhi, who was cheated of Rs 15.50 lakh by fraudsters posing as police and other government officials.

According to the police, the arrested accused acted as facilitators for cyber-fraud syndicates by procuring and supplying mule and current bank accounts used to route the proceeds of cybercrime. The investigation has also revealed links between the network and cyber-fraud operators based in Cambodia and the UAE, including Dubai.

Police said the beneficiary bank account used in the present case was linked to 17 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) from multiple states and union territories. The complaints involve fraudulent transactions amounting to several crores of rupees.

The victim received a call on April 15 in which the caller falsely claimed that his telephone connection would be disconnected on the orders of the Maharashtra Police. He was subsequently directed to contact another number.

At the other end, a fraudster posing as a police official informed the retired Colonel that his personal details had been misused to open an illegal bank account in Mumbai. The caller further claimed that the account was linked to money laundering, investment fraud and terrorist financing.

To make the allegations appear genuine, the fraudsters sent the victim several forged documents, including a fake Enforcement Directorate arrest warrant, purported court papers, an anticipatory bail document and fabricated communications purportedly issued by the Bombay High Court and the Reserve Bank of India.

The victim and his wife were then placed under a digital arrest, with the fraudsters keeping them under sustained psychological pressure and monitoring their communications.

Police said the victim was made to disclose details of his assets and was subsequently induced to transfer Rs 15.50 lakh on the basis of purported RBI instructions communicated by the fraudsters.

Following the complaint, E-FIR No. 165/26, dated April 19, was registered under Sections 308, 318(4), 319 and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Cyber Police Station, South-West District. An investigation was subsequently launched.

A dedicated team comprising Sub Inspector Sombir, Head Constable Jitender, HC Puneet, HC Mayurpal and HC Sandeep was constituted under the supervision of Inspector Pravesh Kaushik, SHO of the Cyber Police Station, South-West District, and the overall supervision of ACP/OPS Sandeep Ghai.

The investigation team adopted a multi-pronged approach involving money trail analysis, examination of beneficiary accounts, analysis of digital footprints and technical surveillance.

During the investigation, the cheated amount of Rs 15.50 lakh was traced to a current bank account based in Ludhiana and belonging to accused Sarbjit, police said.

Sarbjit disclosed during interrogation that he had sold his current account to another accused, Suraj.

Suraj had allegedly come into contact with Sarbjit through Sandeep, an employee of the bank that provided the account.

Further investigation revealed that Suraj had allegedly transferred the account to Naresh, alias Lucky, whom he had contacted through Telegram.

Police said Sarbjit, Suraj and Sandeep had travelled to Jaipur to hand over the account kit to Naresh, who subsequently made it available to the cyber-fraud syndicate.

Acting on these leads, the police team conducted a raid in Rajasthan and apprehended Naresh, alias Lucky. During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed that he procured current bank accounts from Suraj through Telegram and supplied them to fraud operators based in Cambodia and the UAE, including Dubai.

The investigation, police said, has revealed an alleged chain connecting local bank account holders and domestic intermediaries with cyber-fraud operators based abroad.

The beneficiary account and NCRP records were also analysed, revealing links to 17 complaints from multiple States and Union Territories involving fraudulent transactions worth several crores of rupees.

Police said the findings indicated that the accused were allegedly part of a wider and systematic network involved in procuring and supplying mule and current accounts to cyber-fraud syndicates, rather than being involved in an isolated transaction.

The arrested accused have been identified as Sarbjit, 38, a resident of Ludhiana; Suraj, 30, also from Ludhiana; Sandeep, 32, a Ludhiana resident employed with the account-providing bank; and Naresh, alias Lucky, a resident of Sikar in Rajasthan.

According to the police, Sarbjit was the holder of the current account into which the cheated money was transferred and allegedly handed it over for use by cyber-fraudsters through the intermediary chain.

Suraj acted as an intermediary, procuring current accounts and passing them on to members of the network. He allegedly contacted Naresh through Telegram and supplied the account and related account kit to him.

Sandeep, who was employed with the bank, allegedly used his knowledge of the banking sector and professional contacts to facilitate the procurement of current accounts and connect account providers with persons seeking such accounts for cyber-fraud.

Naresh procured accounts from Suraj and acted as a link between domestic account suppliers and cyber-fraud operators based in Cambodia and the UAE, supplying mule accounts to the overseas-linked syndicate.

The police investigation revealed a structured, commission-based model for procuring mule accounts. People willing to part with their current bank accounts were identified and induced to hand them over in exchange for a commission.

The accounts were then passed through a chain of intermediaries before allegedly being supplied to fraud syndicates operating from abroad. These accounts were used to receive and route the proceeds of cybercrimes committed against victims across the country, police said.

Four mobile phones and six SIM cards used in the commission of cyber offences were recovered from the accused.

Further investigation is underway.

IANS