Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Cyber fraudsters held a laborer under ‘digital arrest’ for three days, forcing him to transfer Rs 1.50 lakh after falsely accusing him of terror funding.
Chhola Mandir police acted swiftly on information from the victim’s family and rescued him before he could lose more money. A case has been registered, and investigations are ongoing, police said.
According to reports, 45-year-old Rajkumar, a resident of Chhola locality who works at a vegetable market, received a call from an unknown number three days ago.
The caller, posing as a National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer, claimed Rajkumar’s account was being used to fund terrorism.
The fraudsters asked him to join a video call for “verification,” during which they showed him an SUV marked ‘Police.’ When Rajkumar tried to disconnect, they threatened him with an “encounter” and warned him not to flee, prompting him to continue cooperating.
They then said he appeared to be a “decent man” and could be cleared from the case if he remained under “digital surveillance.” Rajkumar agreed, and the scammers monitored him continuously from Friday to Sunday morning.
Posing as officials, fraudsters interrogated him repeatedly and, on the pretext of settling the case, made him transfer nearly Rs 1.5 lakh in multiple instalments to different bank accounts.
On Sunday, suspicious family members alerted the police. Chhola Mandir police intervened, freed the victim and placed the beneficiary accounts on hold.
In-charge of Chhola Mandir police station, Saraswati Chauhan, said the victim had received calls from two mobile numbers, which are now under surveillance.
