Ahmedabad, Oct 23 (PTI) Cambodia-based fraudsters cheated a senior citizen here of Rs 1.26 crore by posing as a CBI officer and the Chief Justice of India following which four local residents have been arrested for abetment, police said on Wednesday.
The conmen put the complainant under so-called digital arrest' to make him transfer funds, said an official of the Ahmedabad cyber crime branch. The arrested men allegedly allowed their bank accounts to be used for the fraud, he added.<br>Mohammad Hussain Javid, Tarunsinh Vaghela, Brijesh Parekh and Shubham Thakar, all residents of Ahmedabad city, were arrested, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Hardik Makadia.<br>Digital arrest' is a type of cyber crime -- increasingly common of late -- where the victim is made to believe that he or she is under investigation for crimes like money laundering or drug smuggling. The person is asked to remain in confinement while being accessible to fraudsters through video call, and forced to transfer large amounts of money to be let off the hook.
Earlier this month, an unidentified person claiming to be an IPS officer working with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) made a video call to the city-based senior citizen, and told him that his bank account had been used for money laundering activity and a large sum had been deposited in the account, the ACP said.
The victim was also told that he might have to go to jail for five years, but in view of his age he might be spared arrest if he cooperated with the investigation through video calls.
"The (so-called) police officer then told the victim that a request had been filed before the Supreme Court for conducting investigation through video calls. Then, another gang member called the victim posing as Chief Justice of India. The caller used the photo of the current CJI as his DP or display picture," said Makadia.
The man posing as CJI told the victim that his case was being heard by the Supreme Court and he would be interrogated online.
"The fraudsters forced the victim to transfer Rs 1.26 crore into their bank accounts, claiming they wanted to check if this money was not part of the proceeds of crime. They kept the victim under constant watch through video calls and also forced him to break his fixed deposits for transferring money," the official said.
The gang members also promised to refund the entire amount within 48 hours and even sent him a fake certificate of receipt with the seal of the Supreme Court and the signature of a CBI officer', said ACP Makadia.<br><br>Eventually, the victim realised that he had been conned, and approached the cyber crime branch which registered a First Information Report on October 7, said the officer.<br>Probe revealed that the fraudsters had made calls to the victim from Cambodia. They useddummy' bank accounts to receive money from the victim and transferred it to the bank accounts of four Ahmedabad residents, their accomplices.
"Three bank accounts in Ahmedabad received Rs 10 lakh each from the gang. The arrested accused converted the amount into cryptocurrency. Two persons are still absconding. Shubham Thakar had been arrested by Haryana Police in a cyber fraud case earlier," said the officer, adding that further probe was on.