Srinagar: Three persons were arrested for extorting Rs 21 lakh from a senior citizen in Srinagar by posing as central government officials in a cyber fraud case, Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Friday.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, Imtiyaz Hussain, said at a press conference here that Cyber Police Station, Kashmir received a written complaint from a senior citizen of Srinagar of being duped by cyber fraudsters.
Hussain said the fraudsters impersonated as officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), convincing the victim into transferring funds.
“The scammers accused the victim of being involved in money laundering, involving Rs 6.8 crore and issued fabricated arrest warrants and penalties to intimidate him. Through psychological manipulation, they declared that their conversations were “national secret,” instructed the victim to lock his house and avoid communication with others. Also, they falsely assured him of a refund within hours,” he said.
According to police, the senior citizen prematurely closed his fixed deposits and transferred Rs 21 lakh into a fraudulent account of a private bank.
Hussain said police tracked the culprits and arrested the trio, identified as Gaurav Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Shamli and Gurpreet Singh and Ujjawal Chauhan from Punjab's Patiala.
The police seized four mobile phones, a MacBook, 13 SIM cards, 24 debit cards, 20 cheque books, 10 passbooks and other incriminating materials during raids.
Nearly Rs 4.13 lakh has been returned to the account of the complainant so far, Hussain said.
“The accused face multiple charges, including fraud, conspiracy and coercion. Further investigation is underway to trace other conspirators and dismantle the larger network behind this scam,” police added.
He advised people to verify the identity of callers claiming to represent official authorities and report suspicious activities to the nearest cyber police station or cybercrime helpline numbers immediately.
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