Delhi Police make 5 interstate arrests in digital fraud case

Delhi Police arrested five, including two bank employees, for defrauding an elderly couple of ₹1 crore by posing as officials and digitally arresting them.

New Delhi

Police said that the fraudsters contacted the 80-year-old through WhatsApp, posing as officials and claiming that the man’s Aadhaar credentials and mobile number were linked to illegal activities. (Representative photo)

The Delhi Police arrested five people, including two private bank employees, for digitally arresting an 80-year-old man and his wife, and cheating them of ₹1 crore in November 2025. Police said the accused posed as officials of telecom and law enforcement agencies, and placed the elderly couple under digital arrest for a week.

Police said that the fraudsters contacted the 80-year-old through WhatsApp, posing as officials and claiming that the man’s Aadhaar credentials and mobile number were linked to illegal activities.

Deputy commissioner of police (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations) Vinit Kumar said, “The victim was forced to prematurely close fixed deposits, transfer his entire life savings and even take a gold loan. He was harassed and tortured for days. The couple sent all their money and even took a gold loan to meet the demands. They were assured that the money would be returned once a verification process was completed.”

Following an e-FIR on November 4 filed with the IFSO unit, the police analysed bank account details, digital footprint and technical data linked to the fraudster’s mobile number and bank account number.

“One of the accused, Pradeep Kumar, 40, was traced to Hisar in Haryana. He was operating the bank account. We later found that multiple mobile phones were being used and arrested his co-accused Namandeep Malik, 23, also from Hisar,” a senior police officer said.

The third accused, Shashikant Pattanayak, 36, was arrested from Bhubaneswar in Odisha. Police said Pattanayak played a key role in operating beneficiary accounts, facilitating fraudulent GST registrations and layering the defrauded money through multiple accounts to conceal the trail.

In January, further investigation led police to two bank officials, senior sales manager Nilesh Kumar, 38, and sales officer Chandan Kumar, 38, who work at a private bank branch in west Delhi. Police said they assisted the gang by opening fake current accounts using forged documents. This account was used to illegally divert and siphon the proceeds of the cyber fraud, said the police.