In a tragic incident earlier this month, an elderly couple from Chikhali, Pune, fell victim to a digital arrest scam, resulting in the loss of their life savings totaling Rs 76.22 lakh. The couple, both retired defense personnel, were devastated by the financial fraud. Their son, who served in the Air Force, was martyred in 2018, adding to the family’s history of sacrifice for the nation. This incident highlights the growing issue of digital scams targeting vulnerable individuals, particularly the elderly.
The woman received a video call from an unknown number on Sept 2, according to the complaint. The woman, via RTGS, transferred Rs 7.51 lakh on Sept 4, Rs 34.51 lakh on Sept 7 and Rs 34.20 lakh to a different bank account the same day, according to the police. When the suspect subsequently stopped responding, the woman approached Chikhali police station on Sept 21 and realised she was duped. The police have registered a case under BNS sections 308 (extortion), 318 (cheating), 316 (criminal breach of trust), 319 (cheating by personation), 340, 338 and 336 (forgery), as well as relevant sections of the IT Act.
He told the complainant her Aadhaar was used to purchase a SIM card. “He told her that about 50 complaints were registered against the SIM card at a police station in Mumbai,” an officer from Pimpri Chinchwad cyber cell said. The caller, who identified himself as Mumbai police inspector Sandeep Rao, used every tactic in the digital arrest playbook. It is currently unclear when she added the suspect’s bank accounts as payees.
“Our investigation has found that the woman transferred the money to three bank accounts — one each in Ganeswarpur in Odisha, Baner in Pune and Fatehpuri in Delhi,” the officer said.
The caller said an arrest warrant was issued in her name and shared a copy of the warrant, purportedly issued by Supreme Court. He further claimed that her name was linked to an international money laundering case, as well as the banned political outfit, Popular Front of India .