An elderly resident of Salt Lake was allegedly forced to pay a ransom of ₹25 lakh to get herself “released” after a caller threatened her with digital arrest. She could not disconnect the phone call for several days, fearing arrest.
Two men were arrested early this week from Sirsa district of Haryana for allegedly operating a racket that allegedly duped the woman. They also withdrew a major chunk of the siphoned-off money using a cheque.
Police identified the accused as Kuldeep Singh, 25, and Monu, 36. Both were arrested from Haryana earlier this week and have been brought to Calcutta on transit remand.
“The fraudsters had approached the elderly complainant over the phone in the guise of a courier company and told her that her name had cropped up in a money laundering case. She was virtually held hostage for several days till she paid them ₹25 lakh in parts,” said a senior officer of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate.
The woman lodged a formal complaint at the cyber police station of Bidhannagar police, following which a probe was initiated.
“During the investigation, it was found that these two persons were the direct beneficiaries of the proceeds of the crime in this case. Of the ₹25 lakh, the duo had withdrawn ₹18 lakh,” he said.
The police said they were in the process of finding out if more people were involved in the crime.
Hundreds of Calcuttans are duped frequently, who are threatened with “digital arrest”.
Police officers said the victims are made to believe that their names have emerged in a money laundering case and that they will be arrested soon.
“Fraudsters engage the victim over a video call where a man in a police uniform threatens the victim with the charges against him or her. That makes the whole fraud convincing,” an officer said.