Mumbai Cyber Fraud: 72-Year-Old Malad Man Loses ₹89.80 Lakh In ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam, Fraudsters Impersonate Senior Police Officers

Mumbai, September 17, 2026: A 72-year-old retired man from Malad West was allegedly duped of Rs 89.80 lakh by cyber fraudsters who impersonated senior police officers and placed him under a prolonged “digital arrest”, threatening him with arrest in a fabricated terror-funding case, according to the FIR registered by North Cyber Police Station.

Case Registered Under IT Act, BNS

The case was registered on September 14 under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act and various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including cheating, forgery, impersonation and criminal conspiracy.

According to the FIR, the fraud began on August 28, when he received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number. A man wearing a police uniform allegedly introduced himself as Vishwas Nangre Patil, IPS, Additional Director General of Police, Nashik Headquarters.

The caller claimed that the victim’s Canara Bank Visa debit card had been misused in transactions worth crores of rupees and that a case had been registered against him. He was also allegedly told that an NIA arrest warrant had been issued against him.

When the victim said he was a senior citizen and could not travel to Nashik, the caller allegedly offered to “help” him and continued contacting him through video calls. The following day, another person allegedly joined the call and introduced himself as Sandeep Rao from Panchavati Police Station, Nashik.

The accused allegedly sent several forged documents bearing police, NIA, Supreme Court, Enforcement Directorate and RBI logos. They reportedly accused the victim of being involved in money laundering and terror financing and claimed that his bank account was linked to a larger criminal network.

Victim Transfers Rs 89.80 Lakh

The fraudsters allegedly threatened the victim with imprisonment and instructed him not to disclose the matter to anyone. They also allegedly obtained details of his bank accounts, fixed deposits, gold, vehicles and other assets.

On their instructions, the victim allegedly liquidated his fixed deposits and transferred money through RTGS to four beneficiary accounts between August 29 and September 10. The total amount transferred was Rs 89.80 lakh.

On September 4, the accused allegedly demanded another Rs 39.80 lakh from the victim. When he questioned whether he was being cheated, the fraudsters allegedly threatened him with seven years’ imprisonment. He was also allegedly instructed to share his location every two hours and was promised a police clearance letter after the purported inquiry was completed.

Cyber Police Probe Fraud

After the accused stopped responding and their mobile numbers became unreachable, the victim realised that he had been cheated. He subsequently contacted the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 on September 10 and lodged a complaint.

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The North Cyber Police Station has registered the case and assigned the investigation to Inspector Sunil Rajaram Lokhande. Police are investigating the beneficiary bank accounts, mobile numbers, forged documents and the identities of the persons involved in the alleged fraud.

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