Mumbai: In a shocking case of cybercrime, a 65-year-old retired employee of Tata Hospital was duped of ₹75.5 lakh by fraudsters posing as Delhi Police officers, who falsely accused him of involvement in a money laundering case and placed him under a so-called “digital arrest.”
The fraudsters, operating under the guise of law enforcement officials, allegedly kept the man “digitally arrested” for more than two months, controlling his actions and finances through constant intimidation, video calls, and forged documents.
According to the Central Cyber Police, the ordeal began on August 22, when the victim started receiving calls from a person claiming to be a Delhi Police officer. The caller alleged that ₹2.83 crore of “illegal money” had been deposited in multiple bank accounts opened using the victim’s identity documents. He was warned that a Mumbai Police team was on its way to arrest him.
Within hours, the man was contacted over WhatsApp video call by another person dressed as a police officer, introducing himself as Inspector Gopesh Kumar. The “officer” showed him fabricated Supreme Court orders supposedly authorising his arrest and account freeze, convincing the elderly man that he was under investigation for financial crimes.
The scammers told him that he could avoid arrest if he deposited a “security amount” which would be refunded once his innocence was proven. Terrified, the victim liquidated his savings, withdrawing ₹18 lakh from mutual funds, and transferred the money as instructed.
Over the following weeks, the fraudsters continued to pressure him, demanding additional payments. Under duress, the retiree even sold his Borivli flat, handing over ₹48.5 lakh to the fraudsters after clearing taxes and maintenance dues.
When the scammers later demanded more money and stopped responding to his calls, the man realised he had been conned. He eventually approached the NM Joshi Marg Police Station, which transferred the case to the Central Cyber Police for investigation.
Police have registered a case under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including those related to cheating, extortion, and forgery, along with provisions of the Information Technology Act.
