Lucknow: Cyber Crime Police in Sonbhadra arrested three people, including the alleged mastermind, for allegedly duping a retired official of about ₹2.36 crore in a digital arrest scam by posing as senior judicial and govt officials.
Police said they have frozen or placed a hold on ₹75 lakh of the defrauded amount. A Tata Harrier allegedly purchased with the fraud proceeds, ₹2.10 lakh in cash, five Android mobile phones and a fake Allahabad high court advocate identity card were recovered from the accused. Police said the accused intimidated the victim and made him transfer around ₹2.36 crore into three different bank accounts, and continued demanding more money. The alleged main accused, Arun Kumar Dubey (32), was arrested from Omaxe Apartment in Prayagraj.
Police said he worked in a pharmaceutical company and was also a property dealer. Police said efforts are underway to trace the remaining money and identify other possible associates. The arrests were made during a special drive against cybercrime under the direction of Sonbhadra superintendent of police Abhishek Verma and the supervision of Additional SP (Operations) Rishabh Runwal. After receiving the complaint, police contacted banks and obtained account details linked to the victim’s mobile number. Those accounts were put under restriction to prevent further movement of funds. An FIR was registered at the Sonbhadra Cyber Crime police station under relevant legal provisions. Police formed three teams and examined electronic evidence, mobile numbers and bank accounts allegedly used in the operation. Investigators alleged Dubey misused AI to create deepfake images and forged documents to intimidate and blackmail victims. Two women, Priyanka Mishra and Tejal of Shrivardhan in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, were also arrested. Tejal is Dubey’s fiancée and Priyanka her mother.
Runwal said the case surfaced on Sept 22 after an SBI branch manager alerted the Cyber Crime Police Station that a retired employee was repeatedly transferring large sums of money and appeared to be acting under pressure.
During questioning later, the victim told investigators that fraudsters had kept him under a digital arrest, claiming they were from the higher judiciary and govt departments. A police team reached the bank, but the man had already left.