Delhi: Man held for duping ex-govt official of Rs 9 lakh in 'digital arrest' fraud

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested a man from Faridabad for allegedly duping a retired government official of Rs 9 lakh after putting him under ‘digital arrest’, an official said on Saturday.

On August 8, the 76-year-old victim from Keshavapuram filed a police complaint alleging that he received video calls from fraudsters posing as CBI officials, they said.

"The callers accused him of being involved in money laundering and threatened to arrest him unless he paid Rs 9 lakh immediately. Under fear, the complainant transferred the money in two transactions into the bank account provided by the accused," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Bhisham Singh said.

The victim, a retired government telecommunication engineer, then filed a complaint at Cyber Police Station, following which a case was registered and a probe launched, the police said.

Digital footprints and technical surveillance helped identify Sonu Ansari, a resident of Faridabad in Haryana, though his current location remained unknown for some time, the DCP said.

After sustained efforts, he was traced and arrested from Faridabad, he added.

During interrogation, Ansari confessed to his role and disclosed that he opened an account on the instructions of Prateek Dubey, who promised him money in return. The entire cheated amount was credited to this account before being routed elsewhere, the police said.

Ansari opened the account used in the fraud on the basis of a forged rent agreement and was not residing at the address provided in the bank records, the officer said.

Efforts are on to trace Dubey and ascertain Ansari's involvement in other similar fraud cases, the DCP said. PTI SSJ APL NB