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Bengaluru, Nov 17 (IANS) A shocking incident of a 57-year-old woman techie from Bengaluru losing Rs 31.83 crore to cyber criminals after being trapped in digital arrest for more than six months has come to light.
Following a complaint lodged at Bengaluru’s East Cyber Crime Police Station, police have launched a search to bust the gang, officials said on Monday.
The victim transferred Rs 31.83 crore in 187 transactions. He exhausted all his savings and deposits except his fixed deposits. The accused had assured her that after verification she would get her money back by February, but he kept postponing the date on some pretext or the other. Police sources claim that this is one of the biggest digital arrest cases reported in Karnataka.
When suspicious, the victim lodged a complaint with the cyber crime police on 14 November. She said she delayed filing the complaint because of her son’s marriage ceremony and other reasons.
According to the police, the cyber criminals kept the victim under digital arrest for more than six months and broke contact after extorting huge amounts of money.
His ordeal began on September 15, 2024, when he received a call from a person claiming to be from a reputed courier company, who said that a package in his name – containing three credit cards, four passports and banned MDMA – had been received at a courier center in Andheri, Mumbai.
The victim told the caller that she lived in Bengaluru and did not know anything about the package. He then told her that since the package was linked to her mobile number, it could be a case of cyber fraud, and she needed to file a complaint. Before she could respond, he connected her call to another person who claimed to be a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer.
The accused ensured that he did not contact the police helpline or seek legal help by making him believe that he was being monitored by cyber criminals. Later, they issued a direct threat saying that if she shared the information, they would implicate her entire family in the case.
As her son’s marriage was approaching, she succumbed to the pressure and acted as per his instructions. Later the accused contacted her through Skype video and identified himself as Pradeep Singh. He told him that another associate named Rahul Yadav would keep an eye on him for a week. During this time she was kept at home. The accused chose to work from home and started living in her residence.
On September 23, 2024, the accused asked the victim to declare her assets to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Reserve Bank of India. When he declared his assets and cash, the accused extorted money from him in several stages. They also issued him a fake clearance certificate.
Further investigation is underway.
–IANS
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