3 held in Delhi for scamming elderly for Rs 42.49 lakh through digital arrest

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested three men in connection with the digital arrest of an 80-year-old retired government officer who was duped of Rs 42.49 lakh, an officer said on Tuesday.

Mahendra Kumar Vaishnav, 37, Vishal Kumar, 25, and Shyam Das, 25, all belong to Rajasthan.

They allegedly shared their bank accounts with a cyber syndicate that used them to launder victims' money, the officer said.

The members of the syndicate would call their targets impersonating officials of the Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation and accuse them of being involved in shady dealings.

The victim, whose name police did not share, was allegedly one of the many who fell prey to the fraud.

"The victim was kept on continuous video calls for hours and coerced into transferring money to various accounts under the guise of verification and legal settlement. The fraudsters drained his life savings amounting to Rs 42.49 lakh," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam in a statement said.

During their investigation, police traced eight first-layer bank accounts linked to the syndicate.

One of the primary accounts, operated in the name of Mahendra Kumar Vaishnav, was found to have received a substantial portion of the defrauded money.

Probe revealed that Mahendra and his associates either sold or rented out their bank accounts to cyber syndicates for a fee.

"They were paid around Rs 10,000 per account per month for facilitating financial transactions on behalf of the gang," Gautam said.

The accused handed over cheque books, ATM cards, SIM cards and internet banking credentials to their handlers, enabling the fraudsters to circulate funds across India and evade detection.

An investigation is underway to identify other people involved in the racket. PTI BM VN VN