Man from Punjab arrested for extorting money from doctor using ''digital arrest'' threat
Kannur (Kerala) (PTI): The Kannur City Cyber Police have arrested a man in connection with the extortion of Rs 10.5 lakh from a female doctor from Thalassery in this north Kerala district.
The accused, Jivan Ram (28) from Ludhiana in Punjab, had allegedly threatened the doctor with a "digital arrest" to coerce her into paying the money.
According to the police, the incident happened on November 30, 2025.
The fraudsters, pretending to be officers from the CBI in Mumbai, contacted the doctor over a WhatsApp video call.
They claimed a money laundering case was filed in her name and pressured her to transfer money to settle the matter.
The doctor allegedly sent Rs 10,50,000 across different accounts, which the accused later withdrew via cheque.
Digital arrest is a form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement, court officials or personnel from government agencies to intimidate victims through audio and video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to transfer money.
The Kannur City Police, following instructions from Police Commissioner Nidhinraj P, tracked the accused to a village in Ludhiana.
Despite the accused constantly changing locations and a Kerala police team facing harsh weather conditions in Punjab, the accused was caught after five days of surveillance, police said.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
