NEW DELHI: An electronic repair shop owner, a DJ operator, and a plastic plate manufacturer were among the five who duped a 78-year-old Delhi resident of more than Rs 2.19 crore, an officer said on Thursday.
The five were arrested by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Special Cell.
The alleged frauds were identified as Dipesh Patidar, 30, a resident of Madhya Pradesh, who runs an electronic repair shop, while Anshul Rathod, 28, also from MP, lets out music systems for weddings, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) Vinit Kumar said in a statement.
Shayam Babu Gupta, 36, from Uttar Pradesh, operates a small plastic plate factory in Jhansi.
Raghvendra Verma, a graduate, runs a motorcycle accessories shop in Jhansi, and Devesh Singh, an ITI diploma holder, recently enrolled in a BTech course. Both are aged 25.
The officer said that despite their modest profiles, the accused were part of an interstate syndicate that impersonated law enforcement and central government officials to extort money from their targets.
“The case came to light after the elderly victim received a call from a man posing as a senior officer from Lucknow Police headquarters, who claimed that two arrest warrants had been issued against him in a money laundering case,” the DCP said, according to the statement.
When the victim said he could not visit the police station due to his age, the caller introduced the concept of a digital arrest, displaying fabricated case details to lend credibility to the threat.
Soon after, another caller contacted the victim, claiming his Aadhaar had been misused, and demanded disclosure of his financial assets.
“The victim was then placed under continuous WhatsApp video surveillance and instructed not to leave his house or contact anyone,” Kumar said.
The accused also created a fake CBI office and had a person pose as a lawyer to interact with the victim.
Intimidated, the victim transferred Rs 2,19,18,000 to multiple bank accounts between November 26 and December 4, believing the funds were being
deposited in RBI-mandated verification accounts.
An e-FIR was registered on December 5, following which an IFSO team analysed bank transactions and digital footprints.
Police arrested Patidar after nearly Rs 1 crore was traced to his account, uncovering a syndicate using mule accounts and virtual numbers. In a separate case, a south Delhi couple lost Rs 14.85 crore during a 15-day digital arrest scam.