Senior Citizen And Graphic Designer Victims Of Digital Arrest Fraud In Southwest Delhi; 4 Arrested

The police arrested four people in two digital arrest cases in Southwest Delhi in which a senior citizen and a graphic designer were defrauded of Rs 32 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Surendra Choudhary on Thursday. The first fraud occurred on October 14, when a 78-year-old man from Vasant Vihar allegedly received a call from one Nitin Kumar, who claimed to be a FedEx employee from the Andheri East branch in Mumbai.

The caller allegedly told the victim that a parcel containing illegal items had been intercepted by Mumbai Customs. The parcel included five passports, three credit cards, one laptop, 40 grams of MDMA, and 4.5 kg of clothing, the caller said, adding that the payment for the parcel had been made using the victim’s credit card, the police said.

Digital Arrest

“The fraudsters induced the victim to download Skype and engage in a video call, during which they threatened him with legal action unless he transferred Rs 32.06 lakh to a designated bank account. Fearing arrest, the victim followed their instructions and transferred the money, only to realise he had been scammed when the fraudsters cut off contact,” said Choudhary

Using technical monitoring, they tracked the illegal money flow to a bank account in the name of Namburi Ajay Kumar, 40, a resident of Barrackpore, West Bengal. On November 7, the police stormed his home and detained him after discovering a smartphone carrying "incriminating evidence" linking him to the scam.

"Kumar used to work in Urban Clap and had been supplying bank accounts to other members of the syndicate on a commission basis," said DCP Choudhary, adding that additional investigation was underway.

“Additional suspects involved in the network are expected to be apprehended soon,” he said.

Similar Incident

In the second instance, police detained three people: Tasim Ahmad, 31, Aman Sharma, 29, and Dharmesh Chandulal Soni, 48, for their roles in a similar scam.

The victim, a 32-year-old graphic designer from Mahavir Enclave, reportedly received a call on September 29 from someone pretending to be from FedEx. The caller alerted her that a suspicious shipment registered under her name and Aadhaar number contained MDMA pills, according to the police.

According to the police, the victim was then linked to a person purporting to be an officer from the Mumbai Crime Branch, who informed her that multiple accounts on her ID were being used for money laundering and advised her to file a report. The fraudsters allegedly threatened to stop her bank accounts if she did not follow the instructions and process, according to the police.

“She was then contacted via video call (Skype) and ordered to bolt the lock of her room, further being instructed to transfer Rs 2 lakh. The victim was held on digital arrest for four hours before she somehow disconnected the video call and came out of the room. Terrified, she reiterated the incident to her husband only to realise that she had been scammed,” the DCP said.

Legal Measures Taken So Far

An FIR was filed under sections 318 (4) and 319 (2) of the BNS after preliminary inquiry. An investigation was launched by a police team led by Sub Inspector Jagdeep Nara, guided by Inspector Vikas Kumar Buldak, and under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Operations. On October 28, three main accused were arrested in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh; Rajkot, Gujarat; and Delhi.

“During interrogation, Dharmesh revealed that he was involved in imitation jewellery trading, but nowadays, he is not getting work in the market and is facing a financial crisis. He came to know that he could earn easy money by selling the current bank accounts on per cent basis, so he arranged a current bank account for his associate Aman through Tasim, who used to deal with the current bank account through Telegram on a commission basis,” DCP Choudhary said.