Mumbai doctor loses ₹1.35 cr to digital arrest, was convinced her account used to 'fund Pathankot attack'

The fraudsters kept the 74-year-old under a 15-day "digital arrest" and convinced her to liquidate investments after falsely linking her to terror funding.

The fear of being linked to terrorism proved devastating for a 74-year-old retired doctor from South Mumbai, who lost more than half of her lifetime savings ( ₹1.35 crore) after cybercriminals posing as officers of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) placed her under a 15-day “digital arrest”. Convincing her that her identity and bank accounts had been used to finance the 2016 Pathankot terror attack, the scammers coerced her into liquidating her investments and transferring the money to accounts they controlled.

A 74-year-old retired doctor from Mumbai was allegedly duped after cyber fraudsters posing as ATS and NIA officers placed her under a 15-day "digital arrest". (Representational image/ HT File)

According to the South Cyber police, the Girgaum resident retired from a South Mumbai hospital in 1997 and now lives with her elder sister. Her income primarily comes from investments in shares and fixed deposits.

Fake terror funding claim

The ordeal began on July 17 when she received a call from a woman claiming to be an ATS officer attached to the Mumbai unit.

“The caller told her that her mobile number had been used to open a bank account which was later used to fund terrorists involved in the Pathankot terrorist attack. She was asked to report to New Delhi, but when she said she could not travel, she was told the investigation would instead be conducted over video calls and that she would have to fully cooperate,” said a South Cyber police officer.

Soon afterwards, the woman received a video call from a man identifying himself as Deepak Sharma, who claimed to be an ATS officer based in Delhi.

According to police, the fraudster sent her what appeared to be official documents bearing the names of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), with her name printed on them.

“He told her they wanted to verify the money lying in her bank accounts and instructed her to transfer the funds to bank accounts provided by them. He assured her that once the verification was complete, the money would be returned,” the officer said.

The scammers repeatedly reassured the doctor that she had nothing to fear if the money was legitimately earned and urged her to cooperate with the investigation. The convincing-looking RBI and ED documents, coupled with the fraudsters appearing in police uniforms during video calls, made her believe the investigation was genuine.

Victim liquidates investments

Trusting the men posing as investigators, the doctor prematurely broke her fixed deposits, withdrew money from her mutual funds and transferred the funds through RTGS into the bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.

She eventually grew suspicious and confided in her niece, who immediately realised she had fallen victim to a cyber fraud. The family then contacted the cybercrime helpline 1930 on August 2.

The South Cyber police have registered a case under sections 308 (extortion), 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.

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