Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) claimed to have arrested the mastermind of the digital house arrest scam running across India from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh.
He was involved in multiple duping cases, including the defrauding of a resident of Dehradun of Rs 3 crore by digitally arresting him through online means.
The gang had kept the victim under digital arrest for 48 hours through video calls and voice calls on WhatsApp by posing as the officers of Greater Mumbai Police and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
How Fraudsters Trapped Victim
On August 12, a Rajpur resident complained to the Cyber Police Station Dehradun that on May 20, he received a call on his mobile number from someone posing as a FedEx Courier executive informing him that his parcel had been seized by the narcotics department at Mumbai Airport.
The caller informed him that the shipment had some objectionable items, such as five to six passports and drugs, while it also had his Aadhaar number, cellphone number, and some of his personal information, which scared the victim.
As the caller mentioned the possible legal action, the victim claimed to have lost his ability to comprehend and understand. The fraudster informed him that they would try to help him out of this by approaching their seniors. Subsequently, they made video and audio calls over WhatsApp and instructed him that he should not talk to anybody except the callers or leave the house without their consent.
From May 20 to the next day, the scam kept him linked via WhatsApp videos and phone conversations, frightening him with various stories.
Victim Did Not Complain Due To Fear
The victim had told police that, after being intimidated by the fraudster, he sent two crore rupees via RTGS to the accused's bank account on May 21.
After that, on May 22, as instructed by the fraudster, he transferred Rs 76 lakh, 12 thousand 678, and Rs 24 lakh from his two other bank accounts. In this method, the victim deposited Rs 3 crore 12 thousand 678 to the fraudster's bank account.
However, after a few days, the victim realised that he had been duped. The victim was so afraid of the incident that he did not report it to the police for a long time. He finally filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Police Station on August 12.
Over 6 Crore Fraud Surfaced
Senior Superintendent Of Police (SSP) STF Navneet Singh Bhullar said following the complaint the STF team identified the main accused, Manoj raided several places and finally arrested him from Sisai Haider, Silota Road, Bahraich UP.
“We have recovered a mobile handset used in the scam, over 2 crores of money, and a SIM card from his possession,” he said.
Bhullar said that initial investigation revealed that so far 76 complaints have been registered in different states across the country against the bank account being used by the arrested accused in fraud.
“Suspicious transactions of more than 6 crores have been found in the bank account,” he added.
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