Man arrested for duping Doonite of Rs 32 lakh after digital arrest for over 24 hours
PNS | DEHRADUN
The cyber police unit of Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) arrested an accused from Jharkhand on charges of keeping a Dehradun man under digital arrest for over 24 hours and duping him of Rs 32.21 lakh. The accused, identified as Deepak Kumar Verma (39), was apprehended in Palamu district of Jharkhand. The investigation revealed that the accused was involved in similar fraud cases in Telangana and Karnataka.
According to the deputy superintendent of police of cyber crime police station of STF Ankush Mishra, the victim, a resident of GMS Road, Dehradun, received a phone call on October 30, 2024, from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as a representative of DHL courier service and informed the victim that a parcel in his name had been seized by Mumbai customs due to the presence of a passport, credit card and methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA). The call was then transferred to another person claiming to be from Mumbai Crime Branch, who later connected the victim to an alleged police officer.
The victim was then contacted via WhatsApp video call and was shown an arrest warrant and a notice from the Supreme Court. The caller threatened him with arrest within 24 hours and gave him the option to either visit the Mumbai police station in person or present his case over a video call, as per DSP. He informed that the fraudsters obtained details of the victim’s daily activities and instructed him not to travel anywhere. Fearing arrest, the victim did not share the information with anyone. From 2 PM on October 30, 2024, he remained under digital surveillance through continuous audio and video calls for over 24 hours.
During this period, the fraudsters coerced him into transferring Rs 32.21 lakh to designated bank accounts, claiming the funds were for verification by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and will be refunded within 24 to 48 hours. After making the payment, the victim was further threatened that senior officials wanted to conduct a deeper investigation and that his assets would be frozen. He was asked to transfer an additional Rs 10.5 lakh within two days. Realising that he had been deceived, the victim reported the matter to the cyber crime police station in Dehradun, Mishra said.
He stated that considering the seriousness of the case, a special team was formed that analysed the bank accounts and mobile numbers used in the fraud. The team finally identified the main accused through digital evidence. The accused kept changing locations to evade arrest but the police tracked him down and arrested him in Jharkhand. Two mobile phones, an SMS alert-linked bank account, a cheque book and an Aadhaar card were recovered from his possession, he said. The investigation is ongoing, he said.
