https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!state/three-persons-held-for-digital-arrest-scam-enn25012102024

Three men were arrested for cheating a software engineer of Rs 11.8 crore through a 'digital arrest' scam in November last year, police said on Tuesday.

The accused - Dhaval Bhai Shah (34) was arrested from Ahmedabad while Tarun Natani (24) and Karan Shamdasani (28) were arrested from Ulasnagar in the Thane district of Maharashtra on January 10, they said.

Police said they have also seized Rs 3.7 crore from different bank accounts of these accused while efforts are being made to trace the remaining members of their gang.

The suspected kingpin of the gang is likely to be in Dubai where he operates, police said, adding that the victim 39-year-old Vijay Kumar was kept in 'digital arrest' for a month.

According to police, the fraudsters impersonating police officials misused the victim's Aadhaar card to open bank accounts for money laundering. The fraud occurred between November 25 and December 12.

In his complaint, the victim alleged that on November 11, he received a call from a person who claimed to be an officer of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The person claimed that the victim's SIM card, which was linked to the Aadhaar card, was used for illegal advertisements and harassing messages.

The fraudster further threatened that a case was registered in connection with this in Mumbai's Colaba Cyber Police Station.

Later, he got a call from a person claiming to be a police officer alleging that his Aadhaar details were being misused to open bank accounts for money laundering, the FIR stated.

The fraudster warned him to keep the matter confidential and also allegedly threatened him that if he did not cooperate with the virtual investigation, he would be physically arrested.

According to the FIR, the victim transferred a total sum of Rs 11.8 crore in multiple transactions to various bank accounts over a period of time, fearing arrest. However, when they started demanding more money, the victim realised that he had fallen prey to fraudsters and lodged a complaint with the police.