Punjab Police busts digital arrest cyber fraud gang based in Assam

Chandigarh, Nov 18 (IANS) Punjab Police’s Cybercrime Division has busted an inter-state gang involved in digital arrest cyber fraud with the arrest of two Assam-based men for their involvement in the fraud, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Monday.

Those arrested have been identified as Nazrul Ali and Midul Ali, both residents of Kamrup in Assam.

Digital arrest refers to a cyber scam where fraudsters, posing as law enforcement officials, deceive victims into believing they have committed a serious crime and must stay visible online until their demands are met, exploiting fear to extort money.

As per the information, a 76-year-old retired government officer lodged a complaint with the state Cybercrime Division that some people claiming to be from the Mumbai Cyber Crime had duped him of Rs 76 lakh by putting him under digital arrest via WhatsApp call. The caller accused the victim of conniving with a criminal who indulged in money laundering and also claimed that a subpoena had been issued in his name by the Bombay High Court.

The fraud caller impersonating a police official from the Mumbai cybercrime gave him account numbers from different banks and directed him to deposit money in the said banks to clear him of the charges. As directed, the victim deposited Rs 76 lakh in different bank accounts.

DGP Yadav said following the complaint, the state Cyber Crime Division registered a first information report (FIR) and started investigations into this case.

He said the investigation has revealed the interstate linkages of the arrested accused in other cyber frauds as the bank account belonging to the arrested accused suggested their involvement in at least 11 other cyber fraud cases spread across seven states in which around Rs 15 crore have been scammed from the victims.

The DGP said during the investigation, that information obtained regarding bank accounts, WhatsApp accounts, and mobile numbers of the cyber fraudsters revealed that the gang has been running their operation from the remote districts of Assam.

The investigation of IP Logs provided by WhatsApp and Skype also revealed that these fake threat calls originated from Cambodia and Hong Kong, he added.

Sharing operation details, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Cybercrime Division V Neeraja said a team from Police Station State Cyber Crime, Punjab headed by Inspector Jujhar Singh went to Assam last week and arrested both the accused persons from Kamrup district of Assam.

She said the accused Nazrul Ali was the owner of the ‘current bank account’ used to siphon off the money at layer one, and Midul Ali had assisted him in opening of bank account by providing his documents.

Both the accused have been brought to Mohali on transit remand for interrogation in this case, she said, while adding that more arrests are likely in the coming days.

--IANS

vg/dan