An elderly retired bank official was duped out of ₹28 lakh by placing him under digital arrest, police said.

Alleged fraudsters claimed that a package — booked in his name — had been found containing narcotics and it had been intercepted at Mumbai, prompting his arrest.

The police said the alleged fraudsters said the package was booked from Thailand, where his Aadhaar card number had been used.

“When the complainant refused to believe, the call was transferred to another number. The man on the other end of the call introduced himself as a CBI officer. He claimed that there was another person accused of the crime who was under arrest and that he, too, could be arrested if he did not follow their instructions,” said an officer of Lake Town police station.

The retired banker was then asked to download an app through which he received a video call to give him the impression that he was under digital arrest.

The police said he was given two options — either to accept physical arrest or to pay money to expedite the probe.

The complainant opted to pay the money he was asked. He transferred ₹28 lakh to multiple bank accounts. He was also told that the money would be refunded once the investigation was over, the police said.

He was kept under digital arrest for around a week before the alleged fraudsters stopped all forms of communication.

The elderly person realised that he had been cheated only when he told his family about the calls.

The family reported the matter to Lake Town police station last week. An investigation has been launched. No one had been arrested till Sunday evening.