UP: Retired Navy Officer Put Under 'Digital Arrest' For 22 Days, Duped Of Rs 98 lakh

Anuj Kumar Yadav, a retired honorary sub-lieutenant in the Indian Navy, has fallen victim to an online scam, losing Rs 98 lakh.

Varanasi:A retired honorary sub-lieutenant in the Indian Navy from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi was kept under "digital arrest" for at least 22 days and forced to pay Rs 98 lakh to cyber criminals who threatened to him of a money laundering case. The cyber police station has registered a case based on the victim's complaint.

The victim, Anuj Kumar Yadav, a Madhav Nagar resident, allegedly received a call on November 11, and the caller introduced himself as a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) officer who informed him that a SIM card issued in Yadav's name was being used for illegal activities. Later, he received another call from the person claiming to be a police officer from Mumbai, who informed Yadav that an account had been opened in one Canara Bank branch using his identity, which had been linked to the Naresh Goyal money laundering case.

The caller gained the victim's trust by disclosing the latter's information, which he claimed to have obtained from the account. The caller then informed the elderly guy that a large sum of money had been deposited into his account through money laundering. Immediately after, the victim received another call to his WhatsApp number, this time from someone claiming that an FIR report would be made against him.

In his complaint, Yadav stated that the caller assured him of help, allowing him to transfer the funds to another account, and promised to return him once the investigation was complete. The victim then made deposits of Rs 33 lakh from his bank account on November 14 and Rs 50 lakh from a Kotak Mahindra Bank account on November 16. He also deposited Rs 7.5 lakh with ICICI Bank via RTGS in two instalments on November 18 and December 3. This included both the set retirement amount and the pension.

Police said that the fraud came to light after Yadav's son, who works in a multinational company, reached home on Tuesday as the father didn't receive his repeated calls.

Cyber Police Station in-charge Vijay Narayan Mishra said that based on the information received so far, three phone numbers have been found that are being investigated. “The money has been transferred to bank accounts of banks located in different cities, including New Delhi, Gurugram, Panipat, and Kushinagar,” he said.

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