'Rs 6.8 Crore Laundered On Your Name...' - How J&K Gang Threatened Victims In Digital Arrest

According to the local police, three people from Srinagar were arrested on Friday as they were posing as TRAI and CBI officials to force victims into transferring funds.

This is a typical case of 'digital arrest.' Digital arrest is a kind of cyber fraud, wherein the accused pose as law enforcement agency officials, such as CBI or customs officials and threaten people about arresting them by making video calls showing fake international parcels of banned drugs.

The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Srinagar, Imtiyaz Hussain, while addressing a press conference said that the accused were using manipulation to defraud senior citizens of Rs 21 lakh.

Additionally, they accused the victim of being involved in a money laundering scam of Rs 6.8 crores and issued fake arrest warrants to intimidate him, the SSP added.

Further, the accused declared their conversations with the victim a "national secret" and instructed him to lock his house, avoid communication with people while falsely assuring him of a refund within hours.

The victim, under pressure, acted prematurely and closed his fixed deposits and transferred Rs 21 lakh into a fraudulent HDFC bank account, he added.

The Cyber Police of Kashmir registered a case and initiated  a swift investigation.

"Leveraging advanced technical tools, the police identified the culprits and dispatched teams to Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Punjab. The operation led to the arrests of Gaurav Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, Gurpreet Singh and Ujjawal Chauhan from Punjab," SSP said.

The police seized a MacBook, 13 SIM cards, four mobile phones, 24 debit cards, 20 chequebooks, 10 passbooks and other incriminating materials.

Around Rs 4.13 lakhs has been transferred into the complainant's account, Hussain added.

The accused is set to face a list of charges including fraud, conspiracy, and coercion.

(Wirh PTI inputs)