3 held for duping a 71-year-old woman of ₹49 lakh in an investment fraud

The three were arrested following investigation into a case registered on the complaint of a 71-year-old woman who was cheated of ₹49 lakh through psychological manipulation, impersonation of law enforcement officials, and sophisticated digital deception, the officers said.

New Delhi: Three men were arrested by the cyber cell of Delhi Police crime branch for their alleged involvement in digital arrest and investment fraud schemes, senior police officers said on Thursday.

The gang members impersonated police officers and government officials (Representative photo)

The three were arrested following investigation into a case registered on the complaint of a 71-year-old woman who was cheated of ₹49 lakh through psychological manipulation, impersonation of law enforcement officials, and sophisticated digital deception, the officers said.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Aditya Gautam said that through technical investigation and human intelligence gathering, three suspects were identified. However, they were absconding from their residential addresses and frequently changing their locations to evade arrest. Investigators continued tracking their locations and finally arrested the three suspects from different places in Lucknow over a period of last one week.

The arrested men were identified as Arjun Saini, 20, Vimlesh (single name),19, and Mohammad Abeed alias Mubashir, 20 – all residents of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. The three were part of a cyber fraud syndicate three members of which were earlier arrested by the crime branch.

“The accused recruited poor and unemployed youth to open and operate mule accounts, enabling smooth siphoning of crime proceeds,” he added.