CBI arrests 5 more in digital arrest crackdown

In its nationwide operation called ‘Operation Chakra-VI’, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has now arrested five more people accused of carrying out ‘digital arrest’ frauds, bringing the total number of arrests in the three high-value cases to eight. The agency stated that these most recent arrests are helping it to get closer to identifying the organised networks responsible for these scams.

Fraudulent individuals who pretend to be members of the police or other authorities keep the victims isolated during video conversations for weeks or even months and force them to transfer large amounts of money. Following the Supreme Court’s direction, which had previously highlighted the extent of such offences, the CBI had already carried out coordinated searches at 89 sites across 20 States as part of three major cases.

There is one instance of a person linked to BITS Pilani who was subjected to a digital arrest for three months and suffered a loss of Rs 7.67 crore; in Gujarat another victim was also detained for three months and lost Rs 19.24 crore; in Karnataka a third case involved a victim being digitally detained for a month and being cheated out of Rs 15.45 crore; the total losses in the three cases amount to more than Rs 42 crore.

Three people had already been arrested as a result of the previous searches. The man from Haryana, Akash, was paid Rs 1.95 crore into an account, which he then transferred on the same day. Raja Karmakar from Kolkata was paid Rs 1.5 crore into a company account. Jyoti Rani took part of the money that had been credited in cash and transferred the remainder.

The five people who have just been arrested took part in receiving, transferring, and distributing the money. Sanket Bastwar and Pankaj Damade, both from Itarsi, deceived the bank into opening an account, took in the money obtained fraudulently, and assisted in moving it to conceal its origin. Arif, who goes by the name King Bhai; Harish Purushottam Yadav, known as Harry, from New Delhi; and Shashank Singh, called Ravi, arranged for an account to receive the money from the victim and then transferred it through several different accounts.

The investigators stated that the three had also installed a malicious APK on the account holder’s phone to intercept the bank’s SMS alerts and carry out transactions on the account without the holder’s knowledge.

The CBI said that the arrests reveal how mule accounts, cash withdrawals, and quick onward transfers were used to launder funds, and that it is currently pursuing other members of the wider network, while further investigation is ongoing.