Pimpri-Chinchwad: Yet another case of a senior citizen losing his hard-earned life savings to cybercriminals has come to light in the Pune district. A 73-year-old man from Talegaon Dabhade town in Maval tehsil was allegedly duped of Rs 34.80 lakh after cyber fraudsters threatened him with a so-called “digital arrest”, falsely claiming that money laundering cases had been registered against him.
The senior citizen lodged a complaint at the Talegaon Dabhade Police Station, following which a case was registered against the holders of the WhatsApp numbers and bank accounts used in the fraud.
Charges have been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 205 (wearing garb or carrying a token used by a public servant with fraudulent intent), 3(5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention), 308 (extortion), 316 (criminal breach of trust), 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), and 336 (forgery), along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Senior Police Inspector Kanhaiya Thorat, in charge of the Talegaon Dabhade Police Station, said, “The victim was contacted by the fraudsters on November 27 through WhatsApp. They made video calls while posing as senior police officers and showed him his Aadhaar card, claiming that multiple fraud cases had been registered against him across the country. They also falsely alleged his involvement in money laundering.”
“This continued for nearly a month. On December 29, the accused stopped contacting him after he transferred money to ‘verify’ his accounts and to ‘settle’ the matter. When communication ceased, he realised he had been cheated and approached us on Saturday, after which we promptly registered the complaint. Further investigation is ongoing,” Thorat added.
Police sources said the senior citizen, a retired private company employee, lives with his son in Talegaon Dabhade but did not share details of the incident with his family until it was too late. Police have once again reiterated that no government authority conducts digital arrests or demands money, and citizens are advised to immediately disconnect such calls and inform their family members.
Meanwhile, Thorat said that the bank accounts linked to the complaint have been frozen. “We have sought assistance from the cyber police station, and the accounts are currently being analysed,” he said.
