‘Digital arrest’: 2 held from TN, Kerala for duping scientist of Rs 1cr | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: State crime branch on Tuesday arrested two men from Tamil Nadu and Kerala for defrauding a Bhubaneswar-based scientist of Rs 1.06 crore by falsely associating him with drug cartels and the Dawood gang and orchestrating his ‘digital arrest‘.
The accused were identified as Satish Kumar K (32) from Chennai and Harish C M (47) from Kozhikode.ADG (crime branch) Vinaytosh Mishra, said that on Aug 9, the 51-year-old victim received numerous anonymous calls from individuals posing as courier staff, customs officials, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) personnel and Mumbai police officers. They accused the senior scientist of having connections with international drug traffickers and the Dawood gang.
Following the typical pattern of digital arrest fraud, the scammers intimidated the victim by claiming that customs officers in Mumbai intercepted a package containing five illegal passports, three credit cards, and 200 grams of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), allegedly destined for Japan. They claimed the shipment was connected to his phone number and Aadhaar card, stating that NCB had issued a warrant for his arrest.
The perpetrators made a video call where the victim spotted someone posing as a police officer, who threatened immediate arrest. The following day, another call arrived. The fraudsters capitalised on his fears by suggesting imminent arrest by Bhubaneswar police.
The criminals informed the victim that his Aadhaar details were utilised to create some fraudulent bank accounts in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bihar. They also claimed these accounts were involved in money laundering operations by certain politicians and the Dawood gang.
The fraudsters instructed the victim to deposit Rs 1.06 crore into specific accounts, falsely representing them as RBI accounts for verification purposes. They assured the return of his funds within 30 minutes post-verification.
The victim, without authenticating the identities of the callers, transferred the money between Aug 9 and 14 to the specified accounts. ADG Mishra said, “Out of the total Rs 1.06 crore, about Rs 68 lakh was transferred to the bank account of Satish Kumar and Rs 30 lakh to Harish.”
Bhubaneswar: State crime branch on Tuesday arrested two men from Tamil Nadu and Kerala for defrauding a Bhubaneswar-based scientist of Rs 1.06 crore by falsely associating him with drug cartels and the Dawood gang and orchestrating his ‘digital arrest’.
The accused were identified as Satish Kumar K (32) from Chennai and Harish C M (47) from Kozhikode. ADG (crime branch) Vinaytosh Mishra, said that on Aug 9, the 51-year-old victim received numerous anonymous calls from individuals posing as courier staff, customs officials, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) personnel and Mumbai police officers. They accused the senior scientist of having connections with international drug traffickers and the Dawood gang.
Following the typical pattern of digital arrest fraud, the scammers intimidated the victim by claiming that customs officers in Mumbai intercepted a package containing five illegal passports, three credit cards, and 200 grams of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), allegedly destined for Japan. They claimed the shipment was connected to his phone number and Aadhaar card, stating that NCB had issued a warrant for his arrest.
The perpetrators made a video call where the victim spotted someone posing as a police officer, who threatened immediate arrest. The following day, another call arrived. The fraudsters capitalised on his fears by suggesting imminent arrest by Bhubaneswar police.
The criminals informed the victim that his Aadhaar details were utilised to create some fraudulent bank accounts in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bihar. They also claimed these accounts were involved in money laundering operations by certain politicians and the Dawood gang.
The fraudsters instructed the victim to deposit Rs 1.06 crore into specific accounts, falsely representing them as RBI accounts for verification purposes. They assured the return of his funds within 30 minutes post-verification.
The victim, without authenticating the identities of the callers, transferred the money between Aug 9 and 14 to the specified accounts. ADG Mishra said, “Out of the total Rs 1.06 crore, about Rs 68 lakh was transferred to the bank account of Satish Kumar and Rs 30 lakh to Harish.”
The accused were identified as Satish Kumar K (32) from Chennai and Harish C M (47) from Kozhikode.ADG (crime branch) Vinaytosh Mishra, said that on Aug 9, the 51-year-old victim received numerous anonymous calls from individuals posing as courier staff, customs officials, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) personnel and Mumbai police officers. They accused the senior scientist of having connections with international drug traffickers and the Dawood gang.
Following the typical pattern of digital arrest fraud, the scammers intimidated the victim by claiming that customs officers in Mumbai intercepted a package containing five illegal passports, three credit cards, and 200 grams of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), allegedly destined for Japan. They claimed the shipment was connected to his phone number and Aadhaar card, stating that NCB had issued a warrant for his arrest.
The perpetrators made a video call where the victim spotted someone posing as a police officer, who threatened immediate arrest. The following day, another call arrived. The fraudsters capitalised on his fears by suggesting imminent arrest by Bhubaneswar police.
The criminals informed the victim that his Aadhaar details were utilised to create some fraudulent bank accounts in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bihar. They also claimed these accounts were involved in money laundering operations by certain politicians and the Dawood gang.
The fraudsters instructed the victim to deposit Rs 1.06 crore into specific accounts, falsely representing them as RBI accounts for verification purposes. They assured the return of his funds within 30 minutes post-verification.
The victim, without authenticating the identities of the callers, transferred the money between Aug 9 and 14 to the specified accounts. ADG Mishra said, “Out of the total Rs 1.06 crore, about Rs 68 lakh was transferred to the bank account of Satish Kumar and Rs 30 lakh to Harish.”
Bhubaneswar: State crime branch on Tuesday arrested two men from Tamil Nadu and Kerala for defrauding a Bhubaneswar-based scientist of Rs 1.06 crore by falsely associating him with drug cartels and the Dawood gang and orchestrating his ‘digital arrest’.
The accused were identified as Satish Kumar K (32) from Chennai and Harish C M (47) from Kozhikode. ADG (crime branch) Vinaytosh Mishra, said that on Aug 9, the 51-year-old victim received numerous anonymous calls from individuals posing as courier staff, customs officials, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) personnel and Mumbai police officers. They accused the senior scientist of having connections with international drug traffickers and the Dawood gang.
Following the typical pattern of digital arrest fraud, the scammers intimidated the victim by claiming that customs officers in Mumbai intercepted a package containing five illegal passports, three credit cards, and 200 grams of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), allegedly destined for Japan. They claimed the shipment was connected to his phone number and Aadhaar card, stating that NCB had issued a warrant for his arrest.
The perpetrators made a video call where the victim spotted someone posing as a police officer, who threatened immediate arrest. The following day, another call arrived. The fraudsters capitalised on his fears by suggesting imminent arrest by Bhubaneswar police.
The criminals informed the victim that his Aadhaar details were utilised to create some fraudulent bank accounts in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bihar. They also claimed these accounts were involved in money laundering operations by certain politicians and the Dawood gang.
The fraudsters instructed the victim to deposit Rs 1.06 crore into specific accounts, falsely representing them as RBI accounts for verification purposes. They assured the return of his funds within 30 minutes post-verification.
The victim, without authenticating the identities of the callers, transferred the money between Aug 9 and 14 to the specified accounts. ADG Mishra said, “Out of the total Rs 1.06 crore, about Rs 68 lakh was transferred to the bank account of Satish Kumar and Rs 30 lakh to Harish.”
