Rs 23 Cr Digital Arrest Fraud: SC Notice to Centre, CBI, RBI
Police said Rs 12.11 crore of the cheated amount has since been frozen in various bank accounts.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre, the CBI, the RBI and others on a plea filed by a 78-year-old retired banker who was allegedly duped of Rs 23 crore after being placed under “digital arrest” for nearly a month.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the authorities on the petition filed by Naresh Malhotra. The plea seeks directions to the banks involved to deposit the defrauded amount of Rs 22.92 crore back into the petitioner’s accounts.
Malhotra has named Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, City Union Bank and Yes Bank as parties to the case. Police said Rs 12.11 crore of the cheated amount has since been frozen in various bank accounts.
According to the police, cyber fraudsters posing as officials of the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI cheated the retired banker, a resident of Gulmohar Park in south Delhi, by falsely claiming that his Aadhaar card was linked to narcotics trafficking, terror funding and the Pulwama terror attack. Under the guise of an investigation, the accused allegedly confined him to his flat and instructed him not to step out.
“The scammers coerced him into transferring his savings to multiple bank accounts over a period of nearly a month,” police said, adding that the victim was threatened with serious consequences if he disclosed the matter to anyone.
The victim stated that the ordeal began on August 4 last year when he received a call from a person claiming to be a Mumbai Police officer, who accused him of involvement in a drug-trafficking racket. This was followed by calls from others impersonating ED and CBI officials.
Realising that he had been cheated, Malhotra lodged a complaint on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal on September 19 last year. The case was subsequently transferred to the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit, following which an FIR was registered.
