In Delhi, elderly people were digitally arrested and defrauded of Rs 30 crore, retired victims were held hostage through video calls for months.
A case of digital arrest has come to light in New Delhi where retired elderly people were defrauded of around Rs 30 crore. The FIR of the investigating agency CBI has revealed that the thugs put mental pressure on the victims for months by digital arresting them by showing the fear of arrest and extorted money. In both cases, the victims were intimidated through phone calls and were kept under constant surveillance over video calls.
First case: Retired professor cheated of more than Rs 11 crore
The first case is of a 73-year-old retired professor. At around 9.15 am on June 10, 2025, he received a call from a woman who introduced herself as an employee of the Department of Telecommunications. He said that his mobile number would be switched off in two hours as a complaint was registered against him.
Scared by posing as a fake CBI officer
The call was immediately transferred to a person who identified himself as CBI Inspector Vijay Khanna. He claimed that the woman’s identity was linked to a major money laundering case, citing the name of the Jet Airways owner. The thugs used to appear in police uniform on WhatsApp video calls and had a setup like a police station behind.
The woman was told that she was under digital arrest and was not allowed to go out of the house or talk to anyone. He was given a code USA7739 and told that if he told a lawyer or the police he would be immediately arrested. Due to fear, the woman remained locked in her room and remained on video calls for hours and continued the calls even at night.
conspiracy to transfer money
The fraudsters sent fake court orders and documents and assured that the money would have to be sent to government accounts for verification. The woman sold her jewellery, broke mutual funds and transferred crores of rupees. Later her husband was also put under digital arrest and he also broke his FD and PPF. Between June and August, the couple transferred a total of Rs 11 crore 42 lakh 75 thousand.
Second case: Retired doctor cheated of Rs 19 crore
The second case is of a 74-year-old retired gynecologist who was living in Gandhinagar for many years. On March 15, 2025, at 3.30 pm, he received a call from a woman named Jyoti Vishwanath who introduced herself to the Telecom Department of Delhi. He said that objectionable messages are being sent from his mobile number and the numbers are being switched off.
When the woman asked to go to the local police station, the call was connected to Mumbai Police. A person on the phone introduced himself as Police Sub Inspector Mohan Singh and said that he was the main accused in the money laundering case. After this he was asked for his Aadhaar number and was told that the case was confidential so he would have to remain under video surveillance 24 hours.
kept things hidden even from family
Due to fear, the woman was constantly on WhatsApp video calls. The swindler asked her to save her number in Sheetal’s name so that the family does not get suspicious. Then many more fake officers came forward, including Public Prosecutor Deepak Saini, Venkateshwar and Notary Officer Pawan Kumar.
In the name of government investigation, the swindlers asked to transfer the money to government monitored accounts. The woman broke 31 FDs, sold 800 grams and 894 grams of gold bars and also took a loan against jewellery. Not only this, under pressure he took money from his daughters and also sold the family house.
Total fraud of more than 19 crores
Between March and June, the woman transferred a total of Rs 19 crore 24 lakh 41 thousand 541 to 35 bank accounts. After the last transfer on June 25, 2025, the swindlers said that the money would be returned in 10 days. But when they tried to contact after two weeks, all the phones were switched off and then they realized that they had been cheated.
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