Bhopal Elderly Couple Kept Under ‘Digital Arrest’ For 2 Months, Duped Of ₹22 Lakh

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): An elderly couple from Kolar was kept under ‘digital arrest’ and surveillance for nearly two months by cyber fraudsters who duped them of Rs 22 lakh by threatening to implicate them in a money laundering case.

The couple approached the cyber police about a month after realising they had been cheated. The case was transferred to Kolar police who registered a case against unidentified accused and launched an investigation.

According to complaint, the 65-year-old woman Laxmi Bai, a homemaker was in Andhra Pradesh with her family when she received a call in May from an unidentified man.

The caller claimed to be an officer from Daryaganj police station in Delhi and told her that an arrest warrant had been issued against her in connection with alleged money laundering.

The fraudster claimed that crores of rupees have been transferred from her bank account to an account linked to a person named Naresh Goyal. He threatened her with arrest and instructed her not to disclose the matter to anyone.

The conmen later posed as a CBI officer and contacted her husband. They allegedly arranged a video call with a person posing as a judge, who threatened to seize the couple’s property.

The fraudsters then instructed the couple to return to Bhopal and arrange money. The couple reportedly pawned their gold jewellery and obtained a loan of around Rs 22 lakh, which was transferred to an account given by the accused.

The couple remained under the fraudsters’ surveillance till July. After eventually realising that they had been duped, they approached the cyber police. Investigators are now tracing the mobile numbers and bank accounts used in the fraud.