82-yr-old retiree cheated of ₹10.74cr by cyber criminals, 2 arrested

The accused have been identified as Harshad Subhash Dhantole and Samarth Suresh Deshmukh, both from Karvenagar

Pune city police’s cyber cell arrested two persons on for allegedly duping a senior citizen of ₹10.74 crore by placing him under ‘digital arrest’ and threatening legal action, officials said on Saturday.

The investigation revealed that the 82-year-old retiree was scammed between January 23 and January 31. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

The accused have been identified as Harshad Subhash Dhantole and Samarth Suresh Deshmukh, both from Karvenagar. Police arrested the duo after laying a trap and seized ₹4.78 lakh from them.

The investigation revealed that the 82-year-old retiree was scammed between January 23 and January 31. He received calls from a person identifying himself as an employee of the “Telecom Regulatory Authority of India”. The caller claimed that a fake bank account had been opened in the victim’s name using his Aadhaar details and this account was linked to a money laundering case.

HT graphic

The victim was then connected to another person who introduced himself as a “CBI officer”. The accused allegedly threatened the senior citizen with arrest and warned that even his family members could face legal action. To “clear his name”, the victim was instructed to transfer all his investments into bank accounts provided by the accused, with the assurance that the money would be returned after “RBI digital verification”.

Fearing arrest, the victim transferred over ₹10.74 crore to the bank accounts. However, the amount was never returned, and he realised that he had been cheated. He then approached the police who registered a case at the cyber police station under sections 308(2), 319(2), 318(4), 3(5) of the BNS, along with sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act.

Using technical analysis of bank transactions and CCTV footage from ATMs, police tracked down and arrested the accused. Further investigation is underway to trace other members of the racket and recover the remaining amount.