• Source:JND
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A 78-year-old retired banker from South Delhi’s Gulmohar Park lost Rs 23 crore in a month after falling victim to a digital arrest scam, police said on Monday. The victim, Naresh Malhotra, stated in his complaint that the ordeal began on August 4, when he received a call from a man claiming to be a Mumbai Police officer. The caller accused him of being linked to a drug trafficking racket.

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Subsequently, fraudsters impersonating ED and CBI officials also contacted him. They allegedly told him that his Aadhaar card was involved in narcotics trafficking, terror funding, and the Pulwama terror attack, and confined him to his flat under the pretext of investigation, an officer said.

"The scammers directed him not to step out of his house and coerced him into transferring his savings to various bank accounts over a span of one month," the officer said.

The victim’s ordeal continued until September 4, after which the fraudsters stopped contacting him. Realising he had been duped, he lodged a complaint on the NCRP portal on September 19. The matter was then transferred to the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit.

"Out of fear, the victim complied with their instructions and kept transferring money from his bank accounts to the accounts specified by the fraudsters. The accused also threatened the victim of dire consequences, if he revealed the matter to anyone," the officer added.

The police said an FIR has been registered, and Rs 12.11 crore of the cheated amount has been frozen in various bank accounts. The investigation revealed that the funds were layered across multiple accounts and withdrawn from different parts of the country to evade detection, the police added.

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"The entire matter is under investigation. Multiple teams are already working on it. Police will crack the case soon and will arrest the accused behind the digital arrest," the officer said.

(With PTI Inputs)