Cyber fraud worth ₹10.6 crore unearthed

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has arrested six suspects linked to multiple interstate cybercrime syndicates allegedly involved in “digital arrest”, fake IPO and trading scams, unearthing swindling of around Rs 10.6 crore related to 89 complaints, an official said on Wednesday.

The accused were arrested following multiple raids across Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, he said.

Police said the accused are linked to at least four cyber fraud cases, which primarily targeted unsuspecting citizens including the elderly through sophisticated online scams.

In one case related to a “digital arrest” scam, an elderly couple was allegedly duped of Rs 20 lakh by cybercriminals posing as TRAI and CBI officials, who extorted them through psychological coercion for nearly a week using fake warrants and arrest threats.

During investigation, Rs 18.5 lakh was traced to a bank account linked to an enterprise operated by accused Shashikant Kumar, who was arrested from Ranchi. Police said around Rs 11 lakh has been refunded to the complainant through court orders.

In another case involving a fake IPO investment scheme, a complainant was cheated of Rs 7.79 lakh through a WhatsApp group and a fraudulent mobile application promising high returns.

The probe led to the arrest of Khalid Tyagi from Roorkee in Uttarakhand, who allegedly arranged mule accounts for routing the money. The account linked to him was found connected with 25 complaints involving around Rs 4.08 crore. A separate trading fraud scam saw a victim being duped of Rs 1.88 lakh on the pretext of online stock investments.

Police arrested Sachin Mittal in Delhi in a fraud linked to 24 complaints involving over Rs 1 crore. In a separate “digital arrest” case, three accused were held after an Rs 8 lakh fraud. Around Rs 19 lakh has been recovered;

probe continues.