Senior citizen placed under digital arrest for 'Delhi blast probe', forced to pay Rs 16.50 lakh
Mumbai (PTI): A 75-year-old retired BMC official was allegedly duped of Rs 16.50 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as ATS and NIA officials and placed him under a "digital arrest" for 'interrogation', claiming his name surfaced in the Delhi Bomb blast case, police said on Wednesday.
The incident came to light on Monday after the victim, a resident of Andheri East, approached the West Region Cyber Police Station, an official said.
According to the police, the victim received a call on December 11 from unidentified persons claiming to be officers from the Delhi Anti-Terrorism Department. The caller threatened him, saying his name had surfaced in a Delhi bomb blast case and that he needed to be interrogated secretly.
The caller then asked the victim to download the Signal application, where he received a video call. During the call, one of the fraudsters posed as NIA officer Sadanand Date.
The caller told the victim that a bank account linked to his mobile number had allegedly received Rs 7 crore through money laundering activities and warned that he would be arrested in the case, police said.
Citing the seriousness of the matter and its alleged connection to national security, the caller instructed the victim not to discuss the issue with anyone.
Claiming that the agency needed to verify whether his investments and deposits were from legal sources, the fraudsters asked the victim to transfer his money to certain bank accounts for verification.
Accordingly, the victim deposited Rs 16.50 lakh, following which the caller blocked his number.
The victim then approached the cyber police and lodged a complaint, based on which a case has been registered against unidentified persons, the official said.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
