Panchkula: 1 more held for defrauding 83-year-old in ‘digital arrest’ scam

The arrest follows a complaint filed by a Sector-16 resident on January 16; the victim alleged that he was contacted via a WhatsApp call on January 16, 2025, by a scammer posing as a police officer from Hyderabad

The cybercrime police have arrested the third accused in a “digital arrest” scam that defrauded an 83-year-old man of ₹57.90 lakh. The accused, identified as Birbal, alias Sunil, was arrested from Churu, Rajasthan, on Wednesday.

Over three days, the scammers tricked him into transferring ₹57.90 lakh from his bank accounts. (HT Photo for representation)

The arrest follows a complaint filed by a Sector-16 resident on January 16. The victim alleged that he was contacted via a WhatsApp call on January 16, 2025, by a scammer posing as a police officer from Hyderabad. The fraudster falsely claimed the victim was involved in a serious money laundering case.

The victim was then “digitally arrested” via a video call, threatened, and forced to stay on camera. Over three days, the scammers tricked him into transferring ₹57.90 lakh from his bank accounts.

The accused was taken on a six-day police remand to aid the investigation. Police had previously arrested two other accused identified as Manish and Amit from Hisar on July 29, and Birbal’s arrest was based on the information gathered from them.