Man arrested for duping Nainital resident of Rs 1.47 crore through digital arrest

PIONEEREDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun

 Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) arrested a man from Solan in Himachal Pradesh on charges of keeping a retired vice chancellor of Rohilkhand University, a Nainital resident, under digital arrest for 12 days and defrauding her of Rs 1.47 crore.

The accused, Rajendra Kumar, allegedly posed as an officer of the Maharashtra Cyber Crime department and threatened the victim through WhatsApp calls, the deputy superintendent of police of STF’s cyber crime police station Ankush Mishra said. He informed that a bank account in the victim’s name had received transactions worth Rs 60 crore linked to money laundering. Under the pretext of verifying her bank accounts and with threats of legal action, the victim was forced to transfer Rs 1.47 crore to multiple accounts.

The DSP stated that the case was registered in August 2025 and the Kumaon’s cyber crime unit started the investigation. Investigators traced bank accounts, WhatsApp numbers and other digital evidence linked to the fraud. The probe led to the identification and arrest of Kumar from Baddi in Solan district. Mishra said that during the arrest, police recovered three mobile phones, three SIM cards, two cheque books, 10 blank and signed cheques, three debit cards, a Wi-Fi router, business and registration documents, seals of firms and account-related material. Police also found that the accused operated bank accounts in the names of other individuals and firms to move fraudulent transactions.

Further investigation is underway, he added. Mishra also urged the public not to fall for online offers, fake investment schemes, or fraudulent calls claiming to be from officials. He advised citizens to report suspicious activities to the nearest police station or call the cybercrime helpline 1930.