Elderly man placed under 'digital arrest' for three days, loses Rs 21.5 lakh

Jabalpur, Dec 6 (PTI) Cyber fraudsters posing as ATS officers extorted Rs 21.5 lakh from a 72-year-old retired government employee after placing him under "digital arrest" for three days, Jabalpur Police said on Saturday.

The complainant, Avinash Chandra, from Napier town, received a phone call on December 1 from a man who introduced himself as an ATS officer from Pune. The caller claimed that Chandra's bank account and Aadhaar number had been used in terror funding.

The 'ATS officers' sent some documents to Chandra on WhatsApp and threatened to arrest him and his son and seize their property if he did not cooperate.

They kept him on video call daily from 9 am to 7 pm for three days, monitoring his movements and preventing him from contacting anyone, police said.

The accused allegedly sent him bank account numbers and forced him to transfer money in three instalments. They allegedly told him the amount was being kept "temporarily" and would be returned in six days, according to police.

The fraudsters also obtained details of his property by threatening him with an 18-year jail term and heavy fines if he did not reveal the information. They sent forged documents purportedly from the Ministry of Defence to gain his trust.

Police said when Chandra's family approached the cyber police to lodge a complaint, the fraudsters allegedly called again and told them that the money would not be returned.

A case was registered against the unidentified accused, police added. PTI COR LAL NSK