CBI cracks down on ‘digital arrest’ gangs, searches 89 locations across 20 states, arrests three

MUMBAI: As ‘digital arrest’ scams continue to spread across the country, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched a nationwide crackdown on cybercrime syndicates allegedly involved in defrauding victims of crores of rupees

MUMBAI: As ‘digital arrest’ scams continue to spread across the country, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched a nationwide crackdown on cybercrime syndicates allegedly involved in defrauding victims of crores of rupees. The agency conducted coordinated searches at 89 locations across 20 states and arrested three people allegedly involved in receiving, layering and dispersing proceeds of the fraud.

The searches and arrests were carried out as part of investigations into three cybercrime cases involving alleged fraud of a combined ₹42.36 crore, officials said on Friday. One of the cases is from Gujarat, while the other two are from Pilani in Rajasthan and Karnataka.

The three cases are among several ‘digital arrest’ fraud cases in which the CBI has taken over investigations from police units in different states, officials said.

In the Gujarat case, a victim was allegedly duped of ₹19.24 crore after being kept under illegal ‘digital arrest’ for three months. The fraudsters allegedly posed as police officers investigating a crime and coerced the victim into transferring the money.

In the Rajasthan case, a victim associated with a reputed private deemed university in Pilani was allegedly defrauded of ₹7.67 crore after being subjected to a three-month-long ‘digital arrest’ by persons posing as police officers.

The Karnataka case involved the alleged defrauding of a victim of ₹15.45 crore after the victim was kept under ‘digital arrest’ for about a month, officials said.

During the searches, CBI teams focused on tracing the flow of the fraud proceeds, identifying conspirators and beneficiaries and recovering material that could be used as evidence. The searches were based on financial and technical analysis, including scrutiny of bank accounts and online account-access data, officials said.

“During the search operations, the CBI arrested three accused persons, whose examination revealed their specific and material role in receiving, layering and dispersing the fraud proceeds to project them as untainted funds,” a CBI official said.

One of those arrested, Akash, a resident of Haryana, allegedly received ₹1.95 crore of the defrauded money in his bank account. Investigators found that the account was allegedly opened for the purpose and that the money was transferred to other accounts on the same day, indicating his alleged role in laundering the proceeds, officials said.

The second accused, Raja of Kolkata, West Bengal, was arrested for allegedly receiving ₹1.5 crore of the fraud proceeds in his firm’s account.

The third accused, Jyoti, was arrested after investigators found that her bank account had allegedly received part of a victim’s defrauded money. She allegedly withdrew a portion of the funds in cash and transferred the remaining amount to other accounts, helping disperse the money and obscure its trail, officials said.

The CBI is now working to identify and apprehend other members of the alleged network.

The crackdown is part of the agency’s ongoing nationwide operation, code-named ‘Operation Chakra-VI’, targeting cybercrime syndicates involved in ‘digital arrest’ scams. In such frauds, cybercriminals impersonate police officers, government officials or other enforcement authorities and threaten victims with arrest or legal action on fabricated charges, keeping them on prolonged video or phone calls and coercing them into transferring large sums of money.