Navi Mumbai, August 29, 2026: A 62-year-old retired man from New Panvel was allegedly kept under digital arrest at his home for eight days and duped of Rs 13 lakh by cyber fraudsters who threatened to arrest him in a fabricated national security case.
The accused allegedly monitored the victim through WhatsApp video calls, forced him to remain isolated and eventually made him break fixed deposits and transfer the money to a bank account in Jalgaon.
The fraud came to light on August 20 when the victim’s wife became suspicious after the accused began seeking details about the family’s gold ornaments and money in other bank accounts. She immediately advised her husband to approach the police, preventing further financial losses.
Khandeshwar police have registered a case against an unidentified cybercrime gang under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 351, 204 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act. Police are now working to identify and trace the accused.
Fake Police Officer Makes Contact
According to the complaint, the victim was contacted on August 13 by one of the fraudsters, who posed as a police officer named ‘Rohit Kumar’ from the ‘Indian Data Centre’.
The accused allegedly told him that a fake Canara Bank account had been opened in his name by the banned Popular Front of India and that a SIM card registered in his name had been misused in a criminal case.
The accused allegedly threatened the victim with arrest and subsequently contacted him through WhatsApp video calls while wearing a police uniform and displaying a police logo in the background.
Claiming that the matter was linked to national security, they allegedly convinced him that he was under investigation and instructed him not to disclose the matter to anyone.
Victim Kept Under Surveillance
The victim was allegedly forced to confine himself to a room at his residence and remained under the cybercriminals’ surveillance from August 13 to August 20.
During this period, he was instructed to send messages to the accused at regular intervals, including ‘Good Morning’ in the morning, ‘Safe at Home’ and ‘Jai Hind’ every two hours, and ‘Good Night’ before going to sleep.
The fraudsters allegedly promised to help him get out of the case and showed him purported letters from the Supreme Court and the Enforcement Directorate to intimidate him. They then allegedly instructed him to break two fixed deposits worth Rs 8 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.
Rs 13 Lakh Transferred
On August 19, the victim allegedly transferred the entire Rs 13 lakh to a current account in the name of Global Chemotech at ICICI Bank in Jalgaon, as directed by the accused.
The following day, the accused allegedly made another video call and asked the victim and his wife to sit in front of them. They then allegedly started seeking details about gold ornaments kept at the house and funds held in other bank accounts.
This raised suspicion in the victim’s wife, who realised that the couple was being targeted by cyber fraudsters and immediately approached the police.
Police Probe Cybercrime Network
A police officer said, "The accused used a digital arrest-type modus operandi, posing as police officers and creating fear by falsely claiming that the victim was involved in a serious national security case. The victim was kept under continuous surveillance and was made to transfer Rs 13 lakh. We are investigating the bank transactions and other technical details to identify the accused and trace the money."
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Police have launched further investigations into the cybercrime network and are examining the bank account and digital communication used in the fraud.
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