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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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
