Mumbai, Feb 20: A 62-year-old retired bank manager from Mulund (East) has allegedly been duped of Rs 1.83 crore in a sophisticated “digital arrest” cyber fraud, where fraudsters posed as telecom officials, Crime Branch officers, CBI personnel and an IPS officer, threatening him with arrest in a fabricated money laundering case.
The complainant, Ashok Mahadev Salvi (62), a voluntary retiree from Canara Bank, resides with his wife and daughter in Mulund (East). His wife, a former LIC employee, also took voluntary retirement in 2025. The family’s son works in Germany.
Fraudsters posed as telecom and Crime Branch officials
According to the complaint, on January 7, 2026, Salvi received a call from an unidentified woman claiming to be from the telecom department. She informed him that another mobile number had been registered in his name using his Aadhaar card and that objectionable and illegal messages had been sent from that number in Ghatkopar. He was told that an FIR had been registered against him.
The caller then transferred the call to a man identifying himself as “Mahesh Kumar” from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, who claimed that a SIM card had been issued in Salvi’s name from an Airtel store in Tilak Nagar. He further alleged that Salvi’s Aadhaar details were linked to criminal activities and that he would need to report to the Crime Branch in Bandra.
The call was subsequently “transferred” to persons posing as Crime Branch officials and later to individuals claiming to be from the CBI in Delhi. One of them introduced himself as IPS officer “Jayprabhakar Chougule” and alleged that Salvi had opened a bank account and sold it to a person named Naresh Goyal, through which ₹2 crore had been siphoned off in a scam.
Forged Supreme Court documents sent
The fraudsters allegedly conducted video calls, during which their faces were not visible, and instructed Salvi, his wife and daughter to remain confined in a room and report every two hours, claiming it was a secret investigation ordered by the Supreme Court.
They sent forged documents bearing the name and logo of the Supreme Court of India and the Enforcement Directorate, which allegedly contained Salvi’s name and Aadhaar number in connection with a money laundering case. Fearful of arrest, Salvi shared details of his family’s finances and assets.
On January 8, 2026, the accused allegedly obtained details of the family’s properties and assets via WhatsApp. On January 14, they sent letters purportedly from the Supreme Court, along with bank account details, instructing him to transfer funds for “verification” and promising a police clearance certificate if found innocent.
Rs 1.83 crore transferred under threat
Between January 14 and January 31, 2026, Salvi transferred a total of ₹1,83,40,000 through RTGS to multiple bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. During this period, the accused allegedly threatened him with dire consequences, including death threats, if he failed to comply.
Under pressure, Salvi broke his fixed deposits, pledged family gold ornaments, sold gold coins, and liquidated shares to arrange the funds. Continuous video calls were maintained on his wife’s phone during the transactions.
On February 11, 2026, the accused abruptly stopped contacting the family, after which they realised they had been cheated. Salvi lodged a complaint on the national cybercrime helpline 1930 on February 18, 2026. An acknowledgement number has been generated for the complaint.
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Based on his statement, a case has been registered against four unidentified persons at the East Region Cyber Police Station in Mumbai for impersonation, criminal conspiracy, identity theft using electronic means, extortion by threat, and online financial fraud. Further investigation is underway.
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