SC notice to Centre, CBI on plea of ex-banker duped of Rs 23 Cr in 'digital arrest'
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre, the CBI and others on a plea filed by a 78-year-old retired banker who was duped of Rs 23 crore after allegedly being put under "digital arrest" for nearly a month.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has issued notices to the Union of India, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and others on the plea filed by Naresh Malhotra.
The plea has sought directions to the banks involved to deposit the defrauded amount of Rs 22.92 crore in the petitioner's accounts.
Malhotra has made the Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Indus Ind Bank, City Union Bank and Yes Bank parties to the case.
Cyber fraudsters posing as Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI officials duped the retired banker from south Delhi's Gulmohar Park area of Rs 23 crore by allegedly putting him under "digital arrest" for nearly a month.
The accused allegedly told the victim that his Aadhaar card was involved in narcotics trafficking, terror funding and the Pulwama terror attack, and confined him to his flat under the pretext of investigation, an officer said.
"The scammers directed him not to step out of his house and coerced him into transferring his savings to various bank accounts over a span of a month," police said.
According to police, the victim has stated in his complaint that the ordeal began on August 4 last year, when he received a call from a man claiming to be a Mumbai Police officer.
The caller accused him of being linked to a drug-trafficking racket.
Subsequently, fraudsters impersonating ED and CBI officials also contacted him.
"Out of fear, the victim complied with their instructions and kept transferring money from his bank accounts to the accounts specified by the fraudsters. The accused also threatened the victim of dire consequences if he revealed the matter to anyone," police added.
Realising that he was duped, Malhotra got a complaint lodged on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) on September 19 last year, following which the matter was transferred to the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit.
Police had said an FIR was registered and Rs 12.11 crore of the cheated amount were frozen in various bank accounts.
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
