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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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
