₹1.82-cr fraud on prof unravels int’l gang specialising in ‘digital arrest’

Navi Mumbai police arrested three cybercriminals who duped a doctor of ₹1.82 crore, falsely claiming she was under 'digital arrest' for tax evasion.

NAVI MUMBAI: The central crime unit of Navi Mumbai police has busted an international gang of cybercriminals who defrauded people by placing them under ‘digital arrest’ and falsely accusing them of breaking the law. Three members of the gang were arrested after a 59-year-old doctor and medical college professor was duped of ₹1.82 crore, said police.

the police have recovered ₹11.3 lakh from the accused, apart from a laptop, 18 mobile phones, 18 cheque books of various banks, 32 debit cards, 33 cheques, 27 Vodafone SIM cards, 2 passbooks, 10 rubber stamps in the name of bogus firms and 36 bank kits in the name of 10 companies. (Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO)

All three were history-sheeters and their arrest has led to the detection of several other crimes perpetrated by the gang, the police added.

The doctor and medical college professor was first contacted by the gang via a WhatsApp video call on January 14 this year. Gang members claimed they were income tax officers and said the Delhi police had registered a complaint against her as a firm registered in her name had defaulted on taxes worth ₹8.6 lakh. Subsequently, they sent her letters on forged letterheads of the Criminal Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and the Supreme Court, claiming her credit cards were found to be linked to criminal cases in north India.

“The woman was led to believe that she was under digital arrest and was told that all her property would be verified by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India),” said Ajaykumar Landge, assistant commissioner of police (crime). “She was asked to submit details of all her investments and transfer money to the accused, which they said would be refunded once the verification of her property was complete.”

Between January 14 and February 15, the woman transferred a total of ₹1.82 crore to six bank accounts based on details provided by the accused. She filed a complaint with the cyber cell on February 17, after realising that she had been duped, Landge said.

Three teams were formed subsequently to conduct a probe, said senior police inspector (crime) Sunil Shinde, the investigating officer in the case.

“We undertook technical investigation and traced the bank transactions thoroughly, which led us to the three accused,” Shinde said.

The first breakthrough came on April 18 when Ramesh Babulal Sheth alias Patwa, 45, a resident of Andheri, and Amish Deepak Tulshidas Shah, 42, a resident of Kalbadevi, were arrested. While they were sent to judicial custody on April 25, the third accused, Ahmedabad resident Rajkumar Gelaram Narang, 55, was arrested on May 23. Narang has been remanded in police custody till May 30.

“The first two accused formed bogus companies while the third specialised in opening bank accounts and conducting financial transactions in the name of bogus companies,” said Shinde.

The gang followed an elaborate procedure to pull off the frauds, said Landge.

“The gang would take an office on rent and form a bogus company with the rented address, based on which they would open current accounts with various banks and acquire internet banking kits, debit cards and SIM cards,” said Landge. The banking kits and cards would be sent abroad, to Dubai and Cambodia, where their associates were based. These associates operated the bank accounts into which victims transferred money and made video calls to victims to make them believe that they were under digital arrest, Landge added.

The accused in the case, including the arrested trio, have been booked under sections 204,3(5), 318(4), 319(2), 336(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66(D) of the IT Rules, 2000. They have also been booked under sections 61(2), 336 (2), 340 (2) and 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as they were part of an organised criminal gang and duped victims by using bogus company documents and stamps.

So far, the police have recovered ₹11.3 lakh from the accused, apart from a laptop, 18 mobile phones, 18 cheque books of various banks, 32 debit cards, 33 cheques, 27 Vodafone SIM cards, 2 passbooks, 10 rubber stamps in the name of bogus firms and 36 bank kits in the name of 10 companies.

All three accused had been booked in several similar cases earlier, said Shinde.

“Shah was booked earlier by the Junagadh cyber police station, the CBI in Mumbai and the LT Marg police station in Thane. Narang was named in five cases registered at different police stations in Gujarat while Sheth was booked by the LT Marg police station in Thane,” said Shinde.

The arrest of the accused trio led to the detection of other crimes and helped solve at least two cases registered by cyber cells in Navi Mumbai and Thane, said Shinde. Until now, 73 complaints linked with bank accounts opened by the accused have been registered on the national cyber crime portal and the cases are being investigated, Shinde added.