Man held in Bengal after defrauding senior citizen of Rs 1.20 Cr in fake ‘digital arrest’
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE / Dehradun
The Special Task Force have arrested a man from Malda, West Bengal, for allegedly cheating an elderly woman of Rs 1.20 crore through a digital arrest scam. The accused, Shantanu Das, was arrested by the Cyber Police Station, Kumaon Range, on Monday in connection with a case registered by an Almora resident.
According to the STF sleuths, the victim was kept under digital arrest for 12 days through WhatsApp calls. The accused allegedly posed as officials of the Telecom Regulatory Department and told her that her Aadhaar card was linked to a bank account. He claimed that Rs 60 crore linked to money laundering had been received through the account.
The fraudster also told the woman that 5,000 people had transferred money through her account and that 5,000 FIRs had been registered against her. As he threatened her with legal action, she transferred around Rs 1.20 crore to different bank accounts. Police traced the bank accounts, mobile numbers and WhatsApp details used in the crime. The investigation led them to Das, whose account allegedly received the entire amount.
