PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
The Special Task Force (STF) and Cyber Crime Unit have busted a national cyber fraud gang involved in digital arrest crime and arrested one accused from Barmer district of Rajasthan. The gang allegedly defrauded an 85-year-old man of about Rs 68 lakh by posing as police and CBI officers. The fraudsters had allegedly contacted the victim through a whatsapp call and falsely claimed that his Aadhaar card had been used in a money laundering case.
The senior superintendent of police, STF, Navneet Singh Bhullar informed that the senior citizen had been contacted by unnamed cyber fraudsters through a WhatsApp call. The fraudsters had introduced themselves as police officers, namely inspector Sandeep Rao and investigation officer K. Shiva Subramani, and later claimed to be CBI officers. Telling him that his Aadhaar card had been misused in a money laundering case, they had placed him under so-called digital arrest, Bhullar said and added that through intimidation, they had dumped him of nearly Rs 68 lakh.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered at the Cyber Police Station in Dehradun. During the investigation, the police traced the money to a bank account in Rajasthan.
The STF team arrested a 32-year-old man, Bhabhutararam from Barmer district of Rajasthan. A mobile phone and SIM card were recovered from him.
Citing this case, police have advised people not to trust unknown calls or messages claiming to be from police or central agencies.
