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Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Tuesday said the government will take strict action in the online fraud case involving the “digital arrest” of a 57-year-old Bengaluru tech professional who lost Rs 31.83 crore.
He confirmed that this is the biggest ever online financial scam in Karnataka, adding that those behind the digital arrest will not be spared.
Speaking to reporters, Parameshwara said the fraud took place over a period of more than a year, involving around 187 transactions from the victim’s account. “She could have approached the police at any stage and if she had done so earlier she would not have lost such a huge amount of money,” he said.
He said the state had not seen a digital arrest case of this scale before. “We are taking the matter very seriously and will find those responsible,” he said.
Parameshwara said, “If she realized the fraud only after transferring funds worth crores of rupees, it shows how deeply she was affected by the scam. Now that the matter has come to light, we have taken it seriously. This is the biggest online fraud ever detected from our state. This is the first time that a case of digital arrest on such a large scale has come to light and such a huge amount has been siphoned off.”
Karnataka’s Home Minister also mentioned a separate case in which Karnataka-based people virtually detained individuals in the United States, stating that this method was not new to local investigators.
The incident came to light on Monday, when it was reported that a 57-year-old tech professional from Bengaluru suffered a loss of Rs 31.83 crore due to cyber criminals after going under digital arrest for over six months.
Following a complaint at the East Cyber Crime Police Station in Bengaluru, the police launched a search to trace the gang.
The victim transferred Rs 31.83 crore in 187 transactions, draining almost all his savings and deposits except fixed deposits. The accused repeatedly assured him that the money would be returned by February after verification, but kept delaying the deadline by making one excuse after another.
When suspicious, the victim lodged a complaint with the cyber crime police on 14 November. In the complaint she said that she could not contact the police quickly because of her son’s marriage ceremony.
According to the police, the cyber criminals kept the victim under digital arrest for more than six months and lost contact after recovering the amount.
Her ordeal began on September 15, 2024, when she received a call from someone claiming to represent a reputed courier company, who told her that a package in her 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 had no knowledge about the package. He then warned her that, since the parcel was linked to her mobile number, it could involve cyber fraud and she needed to lodge a complaint. Before she could respond, her call was transferred to another person claiming to be a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official.
The accused prevented her from contacting the police or seeking legal help by convincing her that cyber criminals were monitoring her every move. Later he issued a direct threat, warning that if he told anything, his entire family would be implicated.
As her son’s marriage approached, she succumbed to the pressure and followed his instructions. The accused then contacted her via Skype, identified himself as Pradeep Singh and told her that another associate, Rahul Yadav, would be monitoring him for a week. During this period, she was confined to her home while the accused worked away from her residence.
On September 23 last year, the accused directed the victim to declare her assets to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Reserve Bank of India. When he disclosed his assets and cash, they extorted money from him in several stages and also provided a fake withdrawal certificate.
Police said that investigation is going on.
–IANS