Three extort Rs 1.51 crore from man under 'digital arrest' threat, arrested

Nagpur, Dec 6 (PTI) Three suspected fraudsters have been apprehended from Gujarat for allegedly cheating a Nagpur resident of Rs 1.51 crore by threatening him with "digital arrest" and impersonating police officers, police said on Saturday.

The accused trio had extorted funds from the victim by claiming that money laundering transactions were conducted through his bank account, and it was used for terror funding.

A Cyber police station official said the fraudsters had contacted the complainant through a WhatsApp video call and posed as police officers.

They claimed that a suspicious financial transaction had taken place from his account, which is linked to terrorist activities. They sent fake documents and warned him that he would be arrested, forcing him to transfer Rs 1.51 crore to multiple bank accounts for "verification." During the investigation, the Cyber Police traced the money trail to Rajkot. The arrested accused are identified as Chirag Mukesh Gohel (24), Het Vipul Panchamiya (20), and Shama Arshad Parmar (51). PTI COR NSK