A 72-year-old woman, a practicing lawyer, was allegedly defrauded of ₹3.29 crore after being kept under a so-called “digital arrest” for nine days by cybercriminals impersonating officials from an investigative agency. The shocking incident was reported to the Cyber Crime Police after the victim realised she had been deceived and filed an FIR.
According to the FIR, the victim received the first suspicious call on her landline on June 10. The caller claimed that her Aadhaar card and bank account had been misused in connection with illegal activities such as arms smuggling, blackmail, and gambling. Despite the woman’s denial of any involvement, the fraudsters threatened her with arrest and further legal consequences unless she took immediate action.
To “resolve” the matter, the scammers advised her to dial a specific number to request a no-objection certificate (NOC). Believing the threat to be genuine, the woman followed their instructions. From June 16 onwards, the fraudsters escalated their tactics by placing her under “digital arrest”—isolating her from her family and pressuring her into transferring large sums of money.
Over the next nine days, the scammers coerced the woman into liquidating her fixed deposits and transferring ₹3.29 crore to various bank accounts. They assured her that the funds would be returned to her once the so-called investigation was concluded. Throughout the period, they also warned her not to disclose the matter to anyone, saying it would worsen her situation.
The fraud only came to light after she confided in her son on June 24, who promptly intervened and helped file a police complaint. In her statement, the woman named two individuals — Shiva Prasad Pradeep Sawant and Praveen Sood — as alleged perpetrators.
Based on her complaint, a case has been registered under Sections 308(2) (extortion), 318(4) (cheating), and 319(2) (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, which deals with impersonation using communication devices.
A police official confirmed that an investigation is underway to trace the accused and recover the defrauded amount.
