Jaipur, Sep 16 (IANS) Rajasthan Police’s State Central Cyber Crime Police Station (R4C) has arrested another accused in a major ‘digital arrest’ fraud case in which an elderly couple from Jaipur was allegedly duped of Rs 76 lakh by a group of fraudsters posing as police and central investigating agency officials.
The arrested accused has been identified as Tahir, a resident of Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), Uttar Pradesh.
With his arrest, the number of accused apprehended in the case has risen to three. The action was carried out under the direction of Rajasthan Director General of Police (DGP) Rajiv Kumar Sharma and Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Vijay Kumar Singh.
According to the police, the accused targeted the elderly couple by exploiting their fear of arrest and alleged involvement in serious crimes.
The fraudsters reportedly contacted the couple through WhatsApp and introduced themselves as officials from the police, Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), and National Investigation Agency (NIA). The accused allegedly told the couple that their Aadhaar cards had been misused in terrorist activities and financial crimes involving crores of rupees.
They further threatened that the couple could be arrested and face serious legal consequences if they failed to cooperate with the purported investigation. To make their claims appear genuine, the fraudsters allegedly sent a fake NIA notice to the couple through WhatsApp.
They then maintained continuous contact with the victims through voice and video calls, putting them under sustained psychological pressure. Believing that they were dealing with government and law-enforcement officials, the couple allegedly liquidated their fixed deposits and transferred Rs 76 lakh to several bank accounts specified by the accused.
The fraud came to light after the victims approached the authorities and an investigation was launched. During the investigation, the cyber crime team analysed the WhatsApp numbers used to contact the victims as well as other suspicious mobile numbers associated with the case. The police also examined bank account statements to trace the movement of the money transferred by the victims.
The investigation revealed that the funds were moved through multiple bank accounts after being received from the couple.
According to the police investigation, Rs 21 lakh of the defrauded money was deposited into the bank account of a firm named ‘Haniya Fruits’, operated by an accused identified as Mujassim.
Police found that Mujassim allegedly asked Tahir to arrange additional bank accounts through which the money could be transferred further. Tahir allegedly contacted his acquaintance Satpal Singh, who provided details of other bank accounts.
Approximately Rs 17 lakh was subsequently deposited into the accounts arranged through this channel. The investigation further revealed that Satpal allegedly deducted his commission and handed over Rs 7 lakh in cash to Tahir. Of this amount, Rs 5 lakh was allegedly given to Mujassim, while Tahir allegedly retained Rs 2 lakh as his share.
The police are continuing to investigate the complete money trail and the role of other persons and bank accounts allegedly connected with the fraud.
The arrest followed an investigation based on technical and financial evidence. A team was constituted under the direction of Deputy Inspector General (Cyber Crime) Shantanu Kumar Singh and led by Station House Officer (SHO) Gajendra Singh. The team included Police Inspector Ajay Kumar and Head Constables Ashok Kumar, Sachchidanand, and Lekhraj.
The team analysed mobile numbers, WhatsApp communications and banking transactions to establish links between the accused and trace the movement of the money. The technical analysis eventually led investigators to Tahir in Gautam Buddha Nagar, where he was arrested.
Police said the investigation into the case is continuing, including efforts to identify other persons who may have been involved in receiving, transferring or withdrawing the defrauded money.
The cyber crime police have appealed to the public not to panic or transfer money when confronted with threats of arrest.
–IANS
arc/uk
