Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Crime Branch has arrested a 26-year-old shopkeeper from Howrah, West Bengal, for allegedly duping a senior citizen from Paradip of more than Rs 73 lakh in a ‘digital arrest’ fraud.
The accused has been identified as Rohit Kumar Jaiswal.
According to sources the scam involved fraudsters, posing as CBI and Delhi Police officers, who placed the victim under “digital arrest,” claiming his phone number and Aadhaar were linked to a suspicious parcel containing ATM cards, passports, laptops, and drugs intercepted during shipment from New Delhi to Shanghai.
Jaiswal allegedly acted as a money mule, receiving a significant sum in his bank account as part of the scam masterminded by fraudsters in Cambodia. The victim transferred Rs 73,62,000 to various accounts between May 9 and May 14 last year before realising that he had been duped.
Police investigations confirmed Jaiswal’s role was limited to receiving the money. “The accused received a substantial amount in his bank account,” DG (crime branch) Vinaytosh Mishra told TOI.
The masterminds used a network of Indian accomplices to execute the fraud, he said, adding that efforts are on to arrest others.
