29-year-old Andheri resident arrested in ‘digital arrest’ fraud | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: The police arrested a 29-year-old man last week for extorting ₹11 lakh from a Khar resident after placing her under ‘digital arrest’ in December. The police said the arrested accused, S Hussain, had received ₹3 lakh out of the defrauded amount.

Hussain, an Andheri resident, ran a franchise of mobile SIM cards where he met the cyber frauds. A police officer said that he began helping the frauds and gave them his bank account details, where he received commission. During his interrogation, the police learnt he was supported by two associates – a Mira Road resident and one who lived outside the state. A cyber police officer said the Mira Road-based accused was changing his locations frequently, adding that they have sent teams to arrest the two.

The scam that let to Hussain’s arrest took place on December 24, 2024. Their victim was a 35-year-old senior finance advisor at a private firm. She told the police that she received a call from someone who went by Ravi Kumar Singh and claimed to be an employee of Telecom Department, Delhi. She was told that her mobile number was used to engage in illegal work, so the call will be transferred to the Gamdevi Police.

Another scammer, who identified herself as police inspector Anjali Sharma, threatened to register a case against the victim for forwarding pornographic videos from her phone number. She then video called the victim via WhatsApp. The complainant told the police that Sharma was wearing a police uniform and screamed on the call at her to cooperate with the investigation.

Another fake police officer who identified as Vivek joined the call, further intimidating the victim, and told her that the case will be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A third fake policeman, Rakesh Gupta, joined the video call, and claimed to be a CBI officer. He coerced her into transferring a total of ₹11.57 lakh into different bank accounts. He assured her that if she was found innocent at the end of the investigation, the amount would be refunded. She realised she was scammed after she stopped receiving calls from them.

Based on her complaint, the West Cyber police station registered a case on March 14 and found Hussain’s bank account involved in the fraud.