Elderly woman gets back ₹17 lakh lost in digital arrest scam after police action in Mangaluru
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Mangaluru: Mangaluru City Police have helped an elderly woman recover the ₹17 lakh she had lost in a “digital arrest” scam. The money was symbolically handed over to the victim at the Police Commissioner’s office in the presence of DCPs Mithun and Ravishankar.
Explaining the case, DCP Mithun said that on October 23, a 79-year-old woman from Bejai received a WhatsApp call from a person posing as a police officer. The caller falsely claimed that an arrest warrant had been issued against her and threatened her with immediate detention unless she deposited money for verification purposes.
Fearing arrest, the woman was kept engaged on a WhatsApp video call for nearly five hours, a method fraudsters use to simulate a “digital arrest.” During this time, she went to her bank and transferred ₹17 lakh from her savings account to the scammer’s account by around 3 pm.
Later that evening, around 6 pm, she confided in a neighbour, who immediately accompanied her to the Cyber Crime Police Station to file a complaint. Acting quickly, the police contacted the 1930 cyber helpline and had the recipient account blocked. They also coordinated with the bank manager to confirm that the money was still intact.
On October 24, the police submitted a request to the court to release the frozen funds. Due to the intervening holidays, the court issued an order on October 27, after which the money was transferred back to the victim’s account.
DCP Mithun said the quick complaint and immediate action by the police made it possible to recover the entire amount. He pointed out that in most such cases, victims delay reporting due to fear or embarrassment, making recovery difficult.
In Mangaluru city limits alone, cybercriminals have duped victims of over ₹8 crore this year in eight different cases. So far, police have recovered ₹35.98 lakh. Elderly citizens are said to be the most frequent targets of digital arrest scams.
DCP Mithun warned the public that there is no legal process called “digital arrest” in India. He clarified that law enforcement agencies such as the police, judiciary, CBI, or ED do not operate in such a manner. He urged people not to panic or comply when they receive such calls, and instead, disconnect immediately and contact the Cyber Crime Police.
He also noted that digital investment scams are on the rise. Many people lose money by investing in fake trading platforms without verifying whether they are approved by RBI or SEBI. The police are conducting awareness campaigns in neighbourhoods and educational institutions to alert citizens about such frauds, he added.
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Four more arrested in brigadier assault case in Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Four more accused have been arrested in connection with the alleged assault on an Army brigadier, his son and threatening his wife in southwest Delhi's Vasant Enclave area, police said on Friday.
The accused have been identified as Surjit Singh (36), Sunil Sharma (53) and Ashish (32), all from Mehram Nagar in Delhi, and Satender (35) of Bhiwani in Haryana, police said.
According to police, Surjit Singh was known to the main accused Satender, a director of an aviation company. All of them were sitting together in Mehram Nagar when Satender called them regarding a quarrel in Vasant Enclave.
"Following the call, all four left for the spot in Surjit's white Hyundai Aura. After reaching there, they got involved in the altercation and assault before returning to their respective homes," a senior police officer said.
After learning about the registration of the case, the accused fled and went into hiding, he said.
"Teams were constituted to trace them and all four absconding accused were arrested," he said.
The Hyundai Aura used in the incident has also been recovered, police said.
Further investigation into the case is underway. The role of each accused is being examined, they said.
According to the investigators, the incident took place on the night of April 11, when the brigadier and his son objected to the two men allegedly consuming alcohol inside a car parked outside their residence. Soon, others reached the spot and allegedly assaulted the officer and his son, besides abusing and threatening his wife.
