Wife of senior officer put under digital arrest, loses ₹9.7 lakh

The fraudster, posing as a senior police officer, allegedly pressured the victim into secrecy, threatening her with severe consequences

A 33-year-old woman in Noida lost ₹9.7 lakh in two transactions after being allegedly put under “digital arrest” by a cyber fraudster posing as a police officer, said officials on Saturday. The victim, Kumari Ranjana, who works as a human resource (HR) executive from Noida for a private company in Gurugram, was manipulated into transferring the money under the threat of legal action, they added. 

The caller claimed to be an employee of a courier company and informed her that an illegal parcel in her name, with her Aadhar card attached, had been found. (Representative image)

According to Vivek Ranjan, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) at the Cybercrime Branch, Ranjana received a call on Wednesday from an unidentified number. The caller claimed to be an employee of a courier company and informed her that an illegal parcel in her name, with her Aadhar card attached, had been found. “On the pretext of transferring her call to a Mumbai crime branch official, the suspect initiated a Skype call,” said Vijay Kumar Gautam, station house officer (SHO) of the Cybercrime Branch. 

 The fraudster, posing as a senior police officer, allegedly pressured Ranjana into secrecy, threatening her with severe consequences if she disclosed the investigation to anyone. The suspect restricted her from engaging in any other activities and coerced her into providing personal information. On Thursday, under intense pressure and fear, Ranjana transferred ₹5 lakh and ₹4.7 lakh to the account provided by the suspect. 

The FIR filed by Ranjana said, “He restricted me from any activity. He collected all the information from me. On Thursday, he (the suspect) told me to transfer all the amount to an account. Due to pressure and fear, I transferred ₹5 lakh and ₹4.7 lakh through cheques.” 

The scam came to light when Ranjana’s husband, Ajay Kumar Jha, a senior administrative officer in the Bihar cadre, learned about the situation on Friday. When the suspect called her repeatedly on WhatsApp, she confided in her husband, who advised her to approach the Cybercrime Branch police station in Sector 36, Noida. 

 During the investigation, it was revealed that the fraudster meticulously orchestrated the scheme, allowing Ranjana to perform personal tasks while frequently calling her to ensure she remained under their control. An anonymous officer involved in the case noted, “They called multiple times a day to check if the woman was under their pressure.” The officer added that Ranjana’s husband had been recently posted at the Delhi Secretariat on deputation before being transferred back to Bihar. 

 Based on Ranjana’s complaint, a case was registered on Friday under sections 308 (extortion), 319 (cheating by personation), and 318 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as section 66D of the IT Act, which pertains to punishment for cheating by personation using computer resources. The investigation is ongoing. 

Authorities have urged the public to report cyber fraud by calling 1930 or by filing a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).