The lives of lakhs of people and families were looted of their lifetime earnings and their lives were thrown into darkness through digital arrest. What an irony it is that when an estimated amount of more than three thousand crore rupees has been defrauded in the name of so-called digital arrest in the country, many people have lost their lives, and this trend is continuing for a year, then the government and the responsible system have woken up and a big campaign to crack down on the criminals is starting. That too on the initiative of the apex court instead of the government.
These days, many cases of digital arrest are continuously coming to light in the country. Despite all the efforts of the government, a large number of elderly people are becoming victims of fraud due to digital arrest. While hearing the digital arrest cases on Monday, the Supreme Court showed a strict stance and said that the court will issue necessary instructions in this matter. During the hearing, the bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Jaymala Bagchi said that it is surprising that about Rs 3000 crore has been defrauded from the victims in the country in the name of digital arrest. All this is happening in our country only. If we do not give concrete and strict orders in this matter then the problem will become more serious.
Let us tell you that recently, the Supreme Court has expressed serious concern over digital arrest and has directed CBI to investigate other cyber crimes later and make the investigation of digital arrest its priority. The court has asked the central bank whether the accounts of cyber fraudsters can be frozen with the help of AI? The court has told the CBI that if the scope of any serious digital crime extends beyond India, then it can take the help of Interpol. Sadly, in cyber arrest cases, the most targeted are the elderly, who do not have serious knowledge of digital transactions. This percentage of targeting the elderly is said to be 78 to 82 percent.
In many places this percentage is up to 99 percent. Whereas from January to April 2024, 46 percent of the cases of cyber fraud and digital arrest were linked to South East Asian countries like Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Undoubtedly, digital arrest has emerged as the most insidious form of cyber crime in recent years. This crime is a major threat not only to the financial security and stability of the country, but also to public confidence in the law enforcement system. In such a situation, it can be said that the decision of the Supreme Court to hand over the nationwide investigation of these scams to CBI is a meaningful intervention as per the time. In this sequence, the court has directed all the states to give consent to CBI to investigate crimes in their jurisdiction.
In fact, the Court has accepted the reality that cyber criminals take advantage of state borders.
Let’s pick it up. On the other hand, piecemeal investigation promotes the network of cross-border cyber criminals. In fact, cyber criminals target innocent people and the elderly through digital arrest. They blackmail and terrorize law enforcement officers by posing as police and judges to pay huge sums of money. However, the court said that it has become necessary to take strict measures to deal with this matter. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central Government, said that the Home Ministry has set up a separate unit and coordination is being made with various departments to deal with the matter.
Besides, many other steps have been taken to deal with digital arrest. The Union Home Ministry and CBI submitted the report in a sealed envelope to the Supreme Court regarding the hearing regarding digital arrest. After hearing the arguments presented by the Central Government, the court said that the matter is very serious and the court will pass appropriate orders in this matter. The next hearing of the case will be on November 10. It is noteworthy that a senior citizen couple had written a letter to the Supreme Court last month saying that between September 1 and 16, they were defrauded of Rs 1.5 crore by impersonating officials of CBI, Intelligence Bureau and sometimes of the judiciary. The fraudsters contacted through phone and video conferencing and tried to extort money by giving threat of arrest. Not only this, they showed fake orders of the Supreme Court. After the matter came to light, two FIRs were registered in Ambala. Investigation found that an organized gang is working to make senior citizens victims of fraud. Taking suo motu cognizance of this matter, the court started hearing the case on October 17 and asked the Central Government and CBI to respond. The court also ordered to take suggestions from the Attorney General in this matter.
It is noteworthy that after embezzling Rs 1 crore from an elderly couple from Haryana, the court took suo motu cognizance of this widespread problem. Fake orders of the Supreme Court were used to threaten them. It is a very disturbing situation that cyber criminals are endangering the trust of the people towards public institutions. Then the top court realized that now the water has started passing above the head, the central agency of the country should immediately get to the bottom of this matter.
It is noteworthy that CBI has been given complete freedom to register FIR in digital arrest cases and freeze bank accounts related to fraud. Besides, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the right to investigate the alleged collusion of bank officials was also given. Apart from this, the Telecom Department has also been asked to curb the misuse of SIM cards. Certainly, if all these measures are implemented after a meaningful initiative by the Court, it will be possible to give a national response against this serious crime. The court has expressed confidence that the central agency will discharge its responsibilities responsibly without any fear or favour. In this, the activeness and alertness of the state governments can also prove helpful to the CBI in getting to the bottom of the crime.
It is also important that there is no red tape and political interference in the action of the agency. Along with this, citizens will also have to be alert about such crimes. Awareness and vigilance can save them from falling into the clutches of criminals. On receiving such a call, they should think carefully and avoid giving any information related to the bank in a hurry. The swindlers would pretend to be officers of central agencies or the police department and threaten the victims to implicate them in false charges. After this, under the threat of ‘digital arrest’, they were made to transfer large amounts of money from their bank accounts. So far, more than 35 accused have been arrested in the joint action of cyber cell and police.
These accused have been caught from various districts of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Chhattisgarh. 79-year-old Sheela Suwal of Rajnandgaon was threatened by the accused through video call, posing as a CBI officer and judge. Threatened to be implicated in money laundering case. Asked to transfer the amount to the judge’s account to prove his innocence. The woman transferred Rs 79,69,047 to various accounts mentioned by Ugo. In another case, fraudsters, posing as Forex and trading experts, sent a link to a fake online trading site to a trader. First he gained the trust of the businessman by giving a small profit of Rs 15 thousand, then by luring him with a big profit he deposited Rs 1,21,53,590 in the name of investment. Three accused have been arrested in both the cases.
Police say that in most of the cases, the subs used internet calling and fake documents, acting like foreign call centres. Officials say that do not believe any suspicious calls or threats like digital arrest and immediately lodge a complaint on cyber helpline 1930. The Supreme Court has entrusted the responsibility of Pan India investigation into the digital arrest cases reported from across the country to the Central Bureau of Investigation. During the hearing on Monday, the CJI also directed all the states to help the CBI in the investigation of digital arrest cases. CJI Surya Kant’s bench said during the hearing – Digital arrest is a rapidly growing cyber crime.
In this, thugs, pretending to be officers of police, court or government agency, threaten the victims, especially senior citizens, and extort money from them through video audio calls. CJI Surya Kant’s bench issued a notice to the Reserve Bank of India asking why AI and machine learning technology were not being used to immediately track and freeze bank accounts being used in cyber fraud. Earlier in the hearing on November 3, the SC had said that about 3 digital arrest cases have been detected.
Till now, no strict action has been taken by making digital arrests. Even today, such incidents are continuously coming to light in which people are being cheated of money by threatening them in various ways on mobile calls. People are being forced to commit suicide after losing their life’s hard-earned money in a few minutes. The government should take strict action against such indirect murderers and thugs.
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