CBI Arrests Two More in ₹11.42-Crore Gujarat 'Digital Arrest' Fraud
CBI arrests two more accused in the ₹11.42-crore Gujarat digital arrest case after searches at 22 locations in 10 States.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested two more people in connection with a "digital arrest" fraud in Gujarat in which a victim was coerced into transferring ₹11.42 crore, the agency said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Himanshu Prasad and Unis Biswas, were taken into custody following searches at 22 locations spread across 10 States under Operation Chakra-VI. They are accused of receiving, layering and dispersing the proceeds of the crime.
According to the agency, the two men used a company's bank account to receive ₹2.5 crore of the total amount defrauded from the victim, and then moved the funds to multiple accounts held by their accomplices in an effort to obscure the money trail.
The investigation, the CBI said, has revealed that both accused were involved in using bank accounts and installing APK files to siphon off proceeds generated through "digital arrest" frauds and other cybercrimes. Several incriminating chats, messages and documents were recovered from digital devices seized from their possession. Efforts are on to identify other members of the network.
In the case under investigation, the victim was kept under "digital arrest" for three months by cybercriminals who posed as police officers and officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, and was forced to transfer ₹11.42 crore to bank accounts allegedly controlled by the syndicate.
The searches led to the seizure of banking documents, account details, digital devices and other evidence. The CBI said the action is part of its sustained offensive against syndicates behind the menace, which it described as a grave threat to citizens across the country. It noted that the Supreme Court, taking serious note of the alarming scale of such crimes, has directed the agency to take concerted action against the perpetrators and the wider networks facilitating these offences.
The agency has taken over multiple "digital arrest" cases from various States, each involving victims who were digitally detained by cybercriminals impersonating law enforcement and government officials and forced to transfer large sums. In four of these cases, the CBI has conducted searches at 142 locations across 22 States and arrested 17 accused persons over the past 30 days.