Jabalpur Senior Citizen Couple Loses ₹22 Lakh After 13-Day ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam

Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): A senior citizen couple from Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur allegedly lost ₹22 lakh after cyber fraudsters digitally arrested them for 13 days by pretending to be Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials.

The suspects threatened to implicate them in money laundering and drug-related cases, forcing them to transfer money.

The victim, identified as Prakash Paul Shejwal, a resident of Defence Colony in Civil Lines, Jabalpur, approached the Civil Lines police and lodged a complaint against the unidentified cyber criminals.

According to the complaint, the fraudsters contacted the elderly couple on July 22 and claimed to be CBI officials.

They told the couple that their names were linked to serious criminal cases involving money laundering and drugs.

To make their claims appear genuine, the suspects also sent a fake letter allegedly issued by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

They warned the couple against informing anyone and kept them under a ‘digital arrest’ for nearly two weeks.

During this period, the fraudsters pressured the couple into breaking their fixed deposit (FD).

Following their instructions, the couple withdrew around ₹21 lakh from their FD and transferred the money to accounts provided by the scammers.

After receiving the amount, the suspects sent fake receipts in the names of the Government of India’s Enforcement Department and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), further misleading the victims into believing that the transaction was part of an official investigation.

Realising that they had been cheated, the couple approached the police. The Civil Lines police have registered a case and started an investigation to identify and arrest the cyber criminals involved in the fraud.

Cyber officials have repeatedly warned people, especially senior citizens, against such digital arrest scams.

Government agencies such as the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and RBI do not conduct investigations or arrests through video calls or demand money transfers over phone calls.