Pune: A 72-year-old retired Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) official from Baramati taluka was allegedly duped of Rs 28 lakh in a digital arrest fraud between Nov 30 and Dec 13 this year. The fraudsters not only made him transfer all his savings, but also forced him to mortgage his gold jewellery. The victim approached the Pune Rural police recently and lodged a complaint.An officer from the Pune Rural police told TOI that on Nov 30, the victim received a call from an unknown cellphone number while he was at a market. The caller, a woman, posed as a telecom department official. She informed the victim that his cellphone number was being misused. The call was then transferred to a person who introduced himself as an officer with the Mumbai police.“The caller instructed the victim to return home and not discuss the matter with anyone. The victim was told that his name had surfaced in a money laundering case and that an arrest warrant had been issued,” the officer said.After reaching home, the caller told the victim to lock himself and his wife inside a room. The caller claimed that suspicious transactions worth Rs 2 crore had been carried out from the victim’s bank account. Then, another person, posing as a senior police officer, joined the call and warned the victim of a possible arrest, falsely linking him to a major financial fraud case worth Rs 538 crore.“The caller also told the victim that the businessman’s accomplices may kill the victim, so police personnel in plain clothes have been deployed outside his house,” the officer said.The caller, to terrorise the victim, also said that the businessman’s aides had sexually assaulted the daughter of a person who had revealed the businessman’s name in court and had killed his wife and son. “The caller also told the victim that former chief ministers of Delhi and Jharkhand had been arrested in a similar crime and had to resign from their posts. The crooks then took the details of his bank balance and property and made him transfer Rs 10 lakh to a bank account on Dec 4,” the officer said.The following day, the fraudsters allegedly staged a fake virtual Supreme Court proceeding, involving individuals posing as a judge and a lawyer, and instructed the victim to maintain secrecy. He was later asked to share photographs of his gold jewellery and was persuaded to mortgage it. “The victim took a gold loan of Rs 18 lakh and transferred the amount to another bank account,” the officer said.The crooks continued to contact the victim until Dec 13, enquiring about other investments. The victim eventually informed his son, after which he realised he had been cheated. “After realising that he was duped, the victim and his son approached the police and lodged a complaint on Dec 26,” he said.Investigations so far have revealed that the money was transferred to two private bank accounts located in Jagtial in Telangana and in Bengaluru. “We have sought transaction details, and further investigation is underway,” the officer said.
