Mumbai: A former BMC contractor from Andheri (East) was duped of ₹16.5 lakhs by a cyber fraudster posing as NIA officer, claiming the victim’s name had surfaced in the Delhi car blast case and placed him under ‘digital arrest’ for interrogation.
Details of the case
According to the police, the victim received a call on 11 December 2025 from an unidentified number where a person claimed to be an officer from Delhi’s anti-terrorism department. Officially, Delhi Police has an anti-terrorism unit.
The person threatened the victim, saying that his name had surfaced in the Delhi car blast case that happened on 10 December last year near the Red Fort. The fraudster conveyed to the victim that he had to be secretly interrogated.
Following this, the victim was asked to download the Signal app, which allows users to keep phone numbers private and instead use usernames. On the app, the victim received a video call where one of the fraudsters posing as National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer Sadanand Date.
Incidentally, Date, an IPS officer of the 1990 batch, served as NIA chief until 2 January this year, before he took over the reins of the Maharashtra Police on 3 January 2026 onwards.
Warning of a money laundering case?
According to The Times of India, the caller allegedly told the victim that a bank account linked to his mobile number had received nearly Rs 7 crore through money laundering transactions. The fraudster warned that he could face arrest in the case and was even sent an 'arrest' warrant.
Furthermore, the victim was given a confidentiality agreement stating he couldn’t share this information with his family and was warned that they were in possession of his and his family's information. The victim was then asked to send a text on the app that read ‘I’m safe’ every hour.
The fraudster then asked for the victim’s financial assets to be transferred to a bank account, claiming they required it for an RBI verification process and was assured that these would be returned.
Between December 16 and January 6, the victim transferred almost ₹16 Lakh worth of assets to the account. When the victim started sensing something amiss and asked for refund, he was simply blocked.
Realising he has been duped, he approached the West Region Cyber Police and lodged a complaint.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
