FIR After Nearly A Year As Bhopal LIC Agent Loses ₹35 Lakh In Digital Arrest Scam

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A woman LIC agent who lost Rs 35 lakh to cyber fraudsters posing as police officers had to wait nearly a year for Govindpura police to register an FIR in the digital arrest scam.

The victim, Uma Samaddar, had lodged a complaint in September 2025, stating that she was threatened with arrest over alleged terror funding and made to transfer money into multiple bank accounts.

Samaddar, a resident of Saket Nagar in Govindpura, works as an LIC and post office agent. According to the complaint, the fraud took place in September 2025.

The fraudsters first contacted her through a video call, claiming to be police officers. During the call, they showed a police headquarters building from somewhere and told her that Rs 7 crore linked to terror funding had been deposited in her bank account.

The fraudsters threatened to arrest her and her family members for at least 45 days. They then claimed that she could avoid arrest by transferring her savings to a "government account" for verification, promising that the money would later be returned.

Frightened, Samaddar transferred around Rs 21.5 lakh initially. After her savings ended, she was forced to borrow money from relatives and others and transferred the remaining amount to accounts provided by the suspects.

Cyber police put Rs 15 lakh on hold

The victim approached the Cyber Crime Branch on Sept 26, 2025, but an FIR was not registered at the time. The case diary remained pending while police examined the money trail.

During a review of old cases, the matter was taken up again and subsequently forwarded to senior officers before reaching Govindpura police.

Govindpura police station in-charge Awadhesh Singh Tomar said cyber police had managed to put a hold on around Rs 15 lakh, which the fraudsters could not withdraw. Efforts are now underway to recover the amount and trace the suspects.