Bhubaneswar: The Odisha State Crime Branch has arrested two persons for allegedly duping a retired engineer in Bhubaneswar of Rs 1.38 crore through a sophisticated ‘digital arrest’ cyber fraud.
The accused have been identified as Subham Sharma, alias Sanjay Rana (29), from Delhi, and Amit Kumar (31), from Uttar Pradesh. Police said the duo, along with others, impersonated law enforcement officials to trap the victim, a man in his 60s, in a week-long ordeal of fear and coercion in May 2024.
The scam unfolded on May 10, 2024, when the victim began receiving persistent calls from individuals posing as staff from a courier company and Mumbai Police. They falsely claimed that his mobile number and Aadhaar card were linked to money laundering and other illegal activities. Despite his denials, the callers escalated the pressure the following day by connecting him to a fake police officer via video call.
During the call, the fraudsters placed the victim under a so-called ‘digital arrest,’ restricting his movements, warning him against disconnecting the video call or informing anyone, and displaying a person in police uniform to heighten the intimidation. They further claimed that Bhubaneswar police were monitoring him and threatened imminent arrest. Exploiting his fear, the perpetrators instructed him to transfer all his bank balances into specified “government security accounts” for what they termed an official verification process, promising that the capital would be fully refunded once his name was cleared.
Between May 14 and 18, 2024, the panicked engineer transferred his entire savings.
Subsequent investigation by the Crime Branch’s cyber cell traced the illicit financial trail, revealing that Rs 13.5 lakh had been directly credited to Sharma’s account maintained in the name of ‘Rana Garments’, while Rs 13 lakh landed in Kumar’s possession, with the remaining balance dispersed across a web of secondary mule accounts. Comprehensive analysis of digital footprints, mobile data, and bank transaction registries blew the lid off the elaborate interstate operation, leading to the dual arrests.
A special team led by DSP Anila Anand travelled to New Delhi and arrested Sharma, a resident of Bhagwati Vihar in Uttam Nagar. The investigation further revealed that the accused had purchased a Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS car using the illicit funds. The vehicle, along with forged Aadhaar and PAN cards in the name of Sanjay Rana, mobile phones, SIM cards, bank-related documents and vehicle records, were seized during the operation.
Similarly, Amit Kumar, originally from Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh and currently residing in Dehradun in Uttarakhand, was arrested by another team led by inspector Satyanarayan Padhy. A mobile phone, two SIM cards, Aadhaar card and PAN card were seized from his possession.
Earlier, the Crime Branch had arrested a mother-son duo from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh in connection with the same case. Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network, trace additional fraud proceeds and establish interstate linkages of the cyber crime syndicate.
